In the Stars, We Meet
by ReinyDay
Summary: A month at NEST base for Sam, what's the worst that could happen? Oh wait, that's right. It's Samuel Witwicky. He just so happens to fallen hard for a certain Prime while also stealing the spark of another Autobot. And is it just me or is the Prime's Ex back from what was thought to be dead? Don't forget that Christmas was coming just around the corner. (OpxSam, one-sided BeexSam)
1. Prologue

_**Before we start things off, let me just say, YES. THERE ARE SOME CHANGES FROM THE MOVIES! I can't think of any of them on the spot right now, but some of you, maybe even all of you, would notice those changes. That's a heads-up for everyone. Of course a few disclaimers are needed as well. - I do not own any of Transformers franchise except for this story.**_

 _ **Another thing. I had only just recently gotten into the fandom, so don't expect everything to be down in a flash. I might not have built enough on the characters, but I have at least given them short cameos. Don't expect anything every week as my updates are at random times. If I lose interest in the story, I'm sorry. But there is nothing to be done when you lose inspiration.**_

 _ **Rated T - Just small swearing and fluff.**_

 _ **That's all - Enjoy reading this sh*t piece of work I cooked up!**_

Sam watched the hands on the clock as they ticked away every second of his life. The college student, like the rest of his classmates, was using most of his energy trying to stay focused on the class. But with the monotonic voice of the lecturer, it was getting harder and harder not to rest one's head on the table and lose themselves to the power of sleep. Then again, if not for the somewhat constant Cybetronian words flying around his head, he'd have dozed off when the class started.

 _Primus, Saviour, Matrix, Allspark._

Always the same four words floating around. It wasn't hard to ignore after the first few weeks. Especially if he kept quiet about it after the Egypt incident. That way, he didn't have the mother-hens (Bee, Ratchet and Optimus) worrying over nothing and that he could continue his education in peace. Truthfully, they've already done enough after the split between him and Mikaela, he honestly couldn't ask for more.

And so that led him here. Following the words that floated across the room while constantly looking towards the clock. Now that everything was back to normal, or at least as normal as it can get, he was miserably bored with his life. Yeah, there were the often visits from the Autobots, friends and family (he couldn't tell the difference between the three), but those times were just the usual check-up on the teen, followed by the usual questions. 'How've you been doing', 'Anything troubling you', and 'you know you can give us a call whenever you want?'. He didn't like being smothered. Always felt like he was being pushed a few feet under.

Glancing once more up to the clock, he was and along with the rest of the class, eager to start their holidays. Exactly a minute before the lecture was done. As the seconds ticked down, Sam silently began to move his things into the bag below his desk. I mean, if you had the ability to read 4000 pages in an hour (a symptom picked up after Egypt), you'd understand the feeling when you hear the last bell. And as the last book was in place and the bag zipped up, the bell went off.

The lecturer didn't bother saying any last goodbyes and followed suit like his students. Sam stood up from his seat as the bag was thrown over his shoulders and he set out of the building.

Once outside, he made his way back to the dorm, finding that door was left open. At first, he thought Leo was in one of those moods again after breaking up with yet another female. His clear sign of that was always the left ajar door. But as he entered, being ready to pity his roommate, he was met by an unexpected blonde.

Like said, the blonde male looked about a year or two older than Sam, but not old enough to be classified as an adult. His blue eyes almost unnatural, his hair spiky in some places while it reached his neck which matched his white skin. His clothes would be classified as normal for a teen with a yellow t-shirt having two stripes run around him, a pair of ripped jeans and some dark sneakers to go along with it. His build resembled the Witwicky, being skinny, but not enough to be bone deep.

There was a moment as the two stared at each other, Sam trying process who it was. He'd never seen him around the dorm, so he could be new. But the blonde looked… _familiar_ …

"Sam!" The blonde said, revealing his British accent. He was surprised to find the stranger knew his name. His guard was on high alert as he remembered the last time he was attacked in his room.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"Aw. I'm hurt you don't recognise me." Sam blinked twice before wincing, his eyes flying up when it hit him like a brick.

"Bumblebee?!"

"Bingo!" Bee cheered, jumping the human and wrapped his arms around the student's neck. Caught up in the surprise, all the teen could do was stand in shell-shock of the situation. With a blush colouring his cheeks, Sam pushed himself out of the embrace to look up to the blonde.

"Wha-How?!"

"It's a holoform. Like a projection, but a little more than a 'ghost'. Why? You don't like?" The holoform looked himself over, thinking he looked fine. At least from what he gathered on the web. Sam did the same before meeting bright blue eyes, his blush thickening.

"N-No… I just… Why're you here? And if you were coming, you could've given me a heads-up." Sam muttered, moving to his chair as he slung his bag on the back and sat down on it.

"Optimus told me to come pick you up, heard you were coming to base for the holidays." Bee explained sitting on his bed.

"Who told you that?"

"Leo."

Sam pulled his hand up to his forehead before groaning, cursing his roommate. His hand came down and began to question.

"Optimus sent you?"

"Yes. He thought you might need the protection on the way there."

"And where'd Leo gone off to?"

"He said something about catching a plane. I physically can't see that happening." Bee admitted. Sam rolled his eyes as he gave a sigh of exasperation.

"Anyways, I guess now that you're here I guess we should get going before night time." Sam said as he reached down under the desk of the bedroom table and pulled out, much to the Autobot's surprise, a suitcase looking as if already filled and packed for a month's worth.

Bee raised a brow. "You pre-packed?"

"Was about to grab a taxi to the place right after coming back to my room. But I guess you beat me to it." He explained, mowing through his suitcase for one final check-up. "Do you mind if I take a shower before we leave?"

"Of course not. I'll be waiting outside the dorm when you're ready." Sam gave a nod before the holoform dispersed into small figments of light, travelling through the window and out to his real body.

The teen watched for a second as the last particle left, moving to his cupboard, he picked out a simple blue button-up shirt along with a pair of jeans before moving towards the door leading into the bathroom.

* * *

 ** _A few minutes later…_**

The boy watched as the vehicle left the campus and headed off towards the main road, Bee taking the driver's seat in his holoform. At first, he was looking outside of the window. But as he turned back to the driver's seat, he was surprised to see that the holoform still sat there.

"Um, Bee?"

"Yes?" The blonde voiced, not turning his eyes away from the road.

"You sure you want to keep driving with that body?"

"It's not that I like it, but Optimus ordered us to fit in with society, so he decided that we would use our holoforms more often. He suggested this about a month ago and I'm used to it now… Plus, I can _feel_ more in this body." The blonde elaborated, taking a turn in the road.

"Really? How so?"

The blonde's smile pulled further up as a hand moved away from driver's wheel and caught one of the Witwicky's wrist. The teen flushed brightly and yelped as he jerked the hand up. Before long, Sam had felt it. Warmth on the palm of the holoform. Like a tiny lamp hovering over his skin. Soothing. Then before long, the mech released the grip and returned the hand back on the wheel.

"… Oh." The driver laughed at the response the teen gave as it did more to embarrass the human. For the rest of the trip, the college student watched as the houses go by, quickly turning into buildings of colossal height. From what was told from the mech, they'd arrive in approximately 4 hours, giving enough time for the teen to think and ponder his thoughts, hoping to catch something, _anything_ , random.

Instead, his mind decides to return back to the floating words. Maybe he should tell someone about it. They weren't bothersome, but could eventually lead him into another attack from the 'Cons which worried the back of his mind. Especially after the last time he was taken by one. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the image of blue optics dimming into darkness along with the echo of the Prime's dying words. All the pain and suffering because he didn't tell anyone about the time he found the shard of the Allspark.

He hated to admit it, but the nightmares following Egypt had mentally scarred him. Luckily, it didn't last long. Only a couple of weeks before they faded away. But what was contained in those nights weren't what one would choose to see. Death. Countless and countless times. Different scenarios, but ending in the same way. Colour of blue leaving the optics of Optimus as only two words escaped the dying mech's metallic lips. _'Sam… Why...'_. After being impaled by Megatron. Drowned in lava. Brought down by a missile. After all those events, the teen would wake up in a sweaty fit, scaring the life out of his roommate.

Leo had asked about it once, but Sam refused to speak of it. He knew if he did, someone would find out. Adding more suffocated feelings to his mind. Mostly from Optimus. Most likely, the mech would feel guilty over the entire thing and blame himself. So Sam ignored it all together. But it left the feeling of fear when he was about to fall asleep that still followed him to this very second.

Moving on, Sam hadn't made contact with Optimus after the entire Egypt ordeal. Then again, the mech had just returned from the dead and the college student had return back to his occupation. A college student. That left little windows of opportunities for him to apologise, knowing it was his fault that the Autobot died. There was also this gnawing feeling at the back of his head that kept pushing for reasons to meet with the Prime. He tried to ignore it, but an ache in his head always pushed forward. And because of that, most of the time spent in class were of times thinking about Optimus. He'd blush at the thoughts before someone would give him a light knock on the head by the spine of a book. Most of the times, the teacher.

Sam blinked out of his thoughts and noticed someone was patting him on his shoulder and the car had temporarily stopped. His head turned to face Bee with a concerned look on his face. "Sam?"

"Huh?"

"I've been calling out to you for the past five minutes. We're here now." The blonde pointed a finger in front of the vehicle, noticing that they were parked in front of the base. Sam turned and found it to be true. There were a few soldiers here and there… and everywhere… Some on a vehicle of their own while others walked and talked in small groups. The sun was partially over the horizon while it cast an orange colour over the sky.

"Sorry, Bee. Just lost in thought." He apologised before exiting out the door. He was about to walk around and grab the suitcase, but the holoform had already gotten behind the trunk and had begun to open it. The holoform pulled it out before handing it to the human, disappearing right after.

Sam took a step back as the Autobot transformed back to his bipedal state. He could never get used to it. He's seen it over a hundred times and he'll probably see it a hundred times more, but that won't do anything to sway the teen's hype when he sees them shift. I mean, who wouldn't be amazed at the sight. Each and every part of a vehicle moving to a certain place to make something even greater.

Once the mechling stood proud and tall, he looked down to Sam and gave a gesture to follow him. The teen simply nodded and abided the instruction, lightly jogging to keep up with Bee's strides. They entered the large structure as it was teaming with soldiers. Sam took a look at every point of the compass and saw only groups of people talking or exchanging information. Surprisingly, none had turned their head to greet the Autobot. That showed how much they must've gotten used to seeing the species around.

"Are the others around?" Sam asked, still staring in awe of the numbers.

"Most of… them… are away… at a… meeting…" The bot spoke through his radio. Sam looked up in confusion.

"Why don't you use your voice?"

"… Only private…" Bee replied, again using the radio. Sam was tempted to laugh, but knew better than to mock one's faults. The bot was shy. He didn't burst out laughing, but he did cough to cover up a smile. Bee looked back as he held his cannon up. Sam coughed again before the bot finally turned back forward.

The walk was a few minutes long before they reached a turn. Once turning Sam looked down the corridor to find both large doors and small ones, indicating that they were most likely made for the Autobots. Their hangars to be exact. The only difference between the doors were the numbers placed on them. The large doors starting the order then moving onto the human-sized doors. The human was led to one of the small doors before the Cybertronian had turned back to his alt form, his holoform appearing out of the of the Camaro.

The blonde pulled out a key from his subspace of a pocket before opening the entrance to the room. Sam went wide-eyed when the room was revealed to be of high-class. A neat and white, despite being single-sized, bed was pushed into the far corner with the windows just above it, giving a perfect view of the night. To the side of the bed, a night stand was placed with a brand new digital clock on it. On the ceiling, a TV was set up so one could watch while staring up at night. A table holding a night lamp, a shelf of books and a computer was set up to the corner nearest to the door. The other corner nearest to the door was a kitchen which held a large dinner table, a refrigerator, an over, a microwave and a second door leading to a bright bathroom. And lastly, off on a wall opposite to the bed, a walk-in cupboard was made with many sets of hangars and shelves for any guest.

Sam had slightly pinch himself when he saw it because it was almost too good to be true.

"You motherfuckers."

"Sam. Please refrain from speaking like Sergeant Epps."

"Sorry. But what'd you guys do? Make every guest room like this?" The teen asked, moving into the room with the briefcase in tow.

"No. Optimus had it custom made for you." Bee stated, leaning on the doorway.

"Well he did a fine job of it," Sam moved over to the bed letting the briefcase rest in the middle of the room and flopping his body on the bed's surface. He practically sunk into the furniture. "And I have to say, he's got style." Sam complimented.

Bee chuckled before laying the keys on top of the suitcase, making his way back to the door. "I'll leave you to rest for a while. Need dinner, you got yourself a fresh batch of cuisines in the fridge. Anything else, give the corridor a shout. Will and Epps are in the rooms beside yours with the rest of us in our own rooms. You can meet the others tomorrow morning."

Propping himself on his elbows, Sam flashed a grin towards Bee. "Thanks, Bee."

The Autobot wasted no time after the sentence before turning around, hiding his flushed state. "No worries. Goodnight, Sam. It is good to see you again." The holoform ended it there and closed the door behind himself as he left.

Sam fell back on the bed, kicking his shoes off in the process. He reached over to the light switch right next to his bed (seriously, how could it not get any better?), flicking it off as he buried himself under the comforter. Forget dinner, right now, he just wanted to sleep an entire day away. For a moment, he stared outside his window, enjoying the stars that came. Surprisingly and coincidentally, he had a clear view of the Orion constellation. Not knowing its true meaning behind it.


	2. Reunion

Sam jerked himself awake, sitting himself upright with a hand over his chest. Another nightmare. The same one. His heart raced while sweat ran down his head. At least this time he wasn't screaming. He took a minute to wipe away the drops of sweat before looking outside his window, the sun blaring brightly into the room. The teen threw his legs over the bedside and pushed up, stretching his arms in the process. He rubbed his hair and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

After the process of waking up, just as he was about to take a peak of the fridge, knocks came from the entrance to his room as he rested the face towel around his neck before answering it. Opening the door, he was tackled down by two people. He groaned in pain as he fell on the floor, the combined weight of the three hitting him hard. Looking down, he noticed who they resembled.

One being dressed in a vermillion red and the other a lime green. This included the colour of their hair and the shirts they wore. Though identical, the only thing that differentiated the two were there colours. They both had blue eyes, like that of Bee, with flat hair, t-shirts and shorts as well as well as pairs of joggers. The two looked to be in their early years of high-school with the childish grins they held. It took a moment to process who they were before Sam remembered how the Autobots were using holoform more times than often.

"Skids! Mudflap!" A voice had called out from the doorway as all three turned. Sam recognised the voice instantly.

At the front of the door, a man with raven black hair and bright blue eyes stared glared into the room at the twins. Silently, Sam had to admit that he was at the pinnacle of _handsome_. A strong jaw bone, rippling muscles that stretched the brown leather jacket he wore over the black button-up that had red flames flowing up the edges, and ripped jeans to compliment his black boots. Around his neck hung a pair of dog-tags, one holding the Autobot symbol. His height a head taller than Bee's holoform while his dark swept-back hair contrasted his eyes. The slight five-o'clock shadow made the teen's heart leap when he stared at the man and figured out who he was.

"I told you two to control yourself. What do you two do? Leap at Samuel the moment he opens the door." The man chided, pulling the twins off of Sam's body by the hem of their shirts before setting them outside of the room.

"But we we're jus' happy to see 'im 'gain." Skids countered.

"Yea'. Sam don't mind." Mudflap added.

"You two don't know that." He stated as the twins gave a guilty look at the ground.

"It's alright, Optimus." Sam said, pushing himself off the ground before dusting his clothes. The Prime turned back to the human with a look that was mixed between confusion and worry. "If they didn't mean any harm and no one got hurt, it's all good."

"That's not the point, Samuel-"

" _Sam_." The Witwicky corrected as the elder was surprised to have the human cut in his words. Not even the government officials had the guts to do that. Regaining his cool, he continued.

" _Sam_ , then. The point is if you don't lecture them, they're more than likely to do it again. And believe me, the entire base knows." Optimus heaved sigh as he reached a hand to his face and slid it down. The teen couldn't imagine what the twins had done. The possibilities are endless. He'd have to ask someone later.

"Then I think that's enough of a lecture for the two. Besides, I wanted to see you guys as well. Just didn't expect you to be at the front door." The college student smiled towards the three, bringing a smile to each of them.

"See! He didn't mind!" The twins spoke in unison. The Prime shot a glare towards the two as they turned left and ran down the corridor. The human could only laugh nervously before the holoform turned back.

"Anyways, good morning, Sam." He greeted.

"Mornin', big guy. Wanna' join me for breakfast?" Sam offered.

"Actually, our holoforms can't consume substances like you do. The best we can do is take in energon. But may I come in for the morning?" The Prime explained and asked.

"Of course," Sam stepped out of the way as Optimus walked in. "You know, it's weird that the one who designed the room is the one asking to be let in." He joked.

"True. But no matter, it is still your room. It'd be rude not to ask." He said, looking back to the teen who closed the door.

"Point taken." The elder was then guided to the kitchen table as he took a seat while Sam went to rummage the fridge. He'd guess fried eggs will do for the morning. Plus, it'd give enough time for the two to talk while he worked on it and ate. As he got the stove ready, he began the conversation.

"So, how've you been? Any troubles?"

"None that I can recall. The Decepticons have been quiet most of the time and the Autobots are fitting in along with the humans on base. Though there were the times when the twins caused a ruckus, Ironhide and Ratchet came to a disagreement and Galloway's mad outburst when he was fired, it didn't affect anyone to harshly." The mech recounted.

Sam smiled as he cracked an egg onto the pan. "That's great, but you didn't answer my question. How've you been?"

Optimus blinked in his holoform before answering. "Fine. And you?"

"Great. Especially now that I get to be here for about a month's worth of my holiday." The teen responded, cracking a second egg.

"That's good, but aren't you spending the holidays with your parents?"

"They said they'll come and visit when it's that time."

"I'll be looking forward to meeting them." Sam gave a small chuckle.

"And I'm interested to find out how they react when they see you're a giant robotic alien species." The leader gave a smile at the comment. "I'm also interested how'd my mum react when she hears you were the one that destroyed the fountain." The Autobot tensed up in seat as he looked seriously at the human.

"Sam."

"Hey, I won't tell if you don't." The teen brought out a plate and carefully dropped the eggs onto the dish. As he placed the pan down, he grabbed the plate along with a fork and knife before setting himself down, opposite to the Prime's seat. "So while I'm eating, mind telling me a few things that _did_ happen here."

Optimus smiled again before he started on his recount of the past few months. Most of the time, Sam was listening. But during an opportune moment, the student gave a joke or two along with a comment to follow. The entire time, a smile was lifted upon the Prime's face. Sam had noticed there were times when the raven-haired man/mech looked as though he was about to laugh. But every time, he was sadly disappointed. He was now tempted and challenged himself to make the holoform laugh.

Frankly, it was harder than it looked. After every joke and every humorous comment, the man seemed to smile brighter, but brought no came laughter from his lips. By the time Optimus had finished his recount, Sam had finished his plate and had placed it into the sink, leaving it to clean later. Looking up at the clock of the kitchen, he found it was already half-past nine when he woke up at quarter-past eight.

"Wow. Time flies. Don't you have any meetings today Optimus?" Sam inquired.

"I do, but none at the moment. I'll have to return to my office by eleven, but I'm free until then. If you want, I can show you around the base." The Prime offered.

"Really? I'll take you up on that offer then."

After that, the two set out of the sleeping quarters as they traversed the building. A few people greeting the leader with a wave or a general 'hello'. It was a moment before Sam noticed a few things. Most of the ones who had greeted him were females. All except one as it was one of the soldiers. But the rest were all women. Or at least a few groups of them. It wasn't the fact that they were women on an army base. But the fact that most of them blushed or giggled when Optimus waved back.

Ignoring it for now, he listened to the Prime as he pointed at each different section of the building. Before long, they came to a room with double doors as he heard a few chatters behind them. Optimus opened it before allowing the teen the first step in. The student thanked the elder before noticing the people within the room.

"Sam?" One of the men questioned, his voice that of Ironhide's. The looked close to the height of Optimus, but about a centimetre shorter with the same dark hair that was almost flat. He wore a black shirt along with brown long pants paired with army boots. Around his neck was the same set of dog-tags as the Prime. Unlike Optimus, he had fully grown beard as well as a moustache joining it as his brown eyes complimented his face.

Next to the man was another. This man had golden eyes as well as white hair and a few wrinkles here and there. He'd worn a brown sweater with black long pants as well as a pair of black loafers. Draped over his arms was a lab coat, giving him the look of a natural doctor/scientist at work. He had a muscular build, but not one would look for in an army. And around his neck were the same pair of dog-tags, fitted to his own with his initials.

That's not all, both of the twins and Bee had sat at a couch behind the two older men as they gave a wave to the human and Prime. "Hey, Sam! Over here!" Bee called out, using his hand to ask the teen to move closer. Sam gave a sigh as he figured out the situation before being told. From what Optimus has been telling, he'd guess that the two men were arguing again as the three mechlings watched in humour.

As the human advanced towards the couch, he took the time to inspect the room. It looked like the room had dated back into the British times, with the walls painted a dark red with darker patterns following up the walls and each corner being lined with gold paint. It was a pretty large room. On the far side of the door, sets of windows were placed as a couch, and two sofas were pushed up to the wall. Beside the windows and sofas, two shelves were placed as one held both books and data-pads (Autobot form of a book), while the other held a collection of home movies and a few sets of games for different consoles. In front of the couch, a carpet was laid out, covering half the room with a table placed with different sets of remotes for the TV. While on the topic, the TV monitor was **huge.** It had almost reached the door as it was held up on the wall and stretched out to the corner where a vase sat on a stand. Under the television, sets of consoles, DVD players, and audio equipment were placed, allowing everyone full access to anyone. And if that wasn't enough, there was a small fireplace just beside the TV. To the walls of the room, there were five doors. One being the entrance. Two on one wall and two on the other, leading to different rooms.

The teen sat in between the twins and Bumblebee as he asked for a rundown of what he had missed, acting as if he had seen them during the past few months.

"Well, Ironhide and Ratchet here are having what human's call, a 'lover's quarrel'." Bee joked as it took a moment for the rest of the Autobots to search what the term meant on the World Wide Web. From there on, the room exploded with Ratchet and Ironhide's death threats and arguments thrown at the yellow mechling, the twins doubling over on their seats and Optimus trying to mediate the shouting two. Notice the word, 'trying'.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME 'BONDED' TO HIM!" 'Hide barked, insult within his voice. With that, Ratchet had turned his head and eyed the weapon specialist down.

"AND WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO IMPLY BY THAT?!"

"Basically what I said! Who'd in their lifetime would choose to bond with you?!"

"Then I don't think much can be said about you either!" The two growled at each other sparks flared between the two, Skids and Mudflap wheezing by this point. Sam had a small giggle himself, but decided to stay with the small amount from fear if either two arguing holoforms get him. It was soon before Optimus had put his foot down.

"Enough you two!" Hand flying in both Ratchet's and Ironhide's face as he pried the two apart from each other. The room went silent at the raised voice of the Prime. "I believe that calls for more than enough immaturity today. Do I make myself clear?" The leader asked.

"But-" The two started, quickly interjected by Optimus again.

" **Do I** make myself clear?" The Prime asked again, emphasising on the first few words.

The two glared at each other for a moment before turning their bodies in the opposite direction, each giving a huff of understanding. There was tiny moment with wind blowing between the group before Optimus heaved out his own breath moving to sit on the sofa beside the couch, a hand over his face.

"You okay, sir?" Bee asked, leaning forward on his seat.

"Mmm. I might've had one too many dealings with a troublesome person the other day."

"That bad, huh?" Sam joined in, catching the attention of the other two once more.

"Samuel, when on Earth were you going to tell us that you had come?" Ratchet questioned.

"It wasn't like I was hiding. Bee gave me a ride to this place just yesterday. By the time we arrived, you guys were in a meeting and I was pretty darn tired. And you all seemed to be doing fine without me."

"'Dis ain't what 'd call fine." Mudflap joked, pointing towards the to mechs.

"You mus' be out of your min' if yous thin' this is fine." Skids added as the medic and weapons specialist growled at the twins. Bee gave a light laugh while Sam smiled.

"So where's Will and Epps?" Sam asked.

"Right behind ya' kid." A voice spoke from behind the couch, scaring the daylights out of Sam. Jumping up on his seat, the teen turned to find that the two NEST soldiers were standing behind them all, grins among their faces. Having a hand over his chest, Sam laughed while a hand reached over the couch and ruffled his hair. The Witwicky pulled away from the touch as the men laughed.

"Good to see you doing fine Sam." Will greeted.

"Never would've guessed to see you here. What, college finally let you out?" Epps followed, leaning his arms on the couch.

"Yep. Going to be staying here for about a month's worth of holiday." Soon, the entire room joined in the conversation, taking the time to greet one another as old war-allies. Though none acted like one. Optimus decided to stay out of most of the conversation, listening to each story told from different perspectives. But, he was mainly focused on the human teen. No matter how much he denied it, Sam was still a sparkling in all of their eyes. A thought of something else. Every laugh or smile the boy gave, the more it made his spark pulse in ecstatic. It had hurt, yet it felt strangely pleasing.

It took a while to get through most of the stories and a few things that the Autobots had learnt from human cultures before Optimus took a glance at the clock. The time reading 10:50.

"I hate to ruin this moment, but Lennox, Hide. We have a meeting to get to." The two men nodded to the Prime as they gave a small goodbye before all three exited the room. Sam counted to five after they had left before grabbing the attention of those remaining in the room.

"Okay, let's get serious for a second." The teen stated, standing up as every looked up to the college student in confusion. "Have any of you guys seen Optimus laugh before?" He asked, as Epps flipped back through his head while the Autobots stayed silent. Only the dark-skinned man had answered with a shake of the head as Sam noticed the four bots' silence.

Sam looked to Bee as the blonde gave a guilty look. "Well… I'm not sure if we're at liberty to say-"

"Which we aren't." Ratchet intervened, before crossing his arms. "The only ones who know the real reason is Optimus and Ironhide. But I do know for a fact that he hasn't ever fully enjoyed himself to his fullest ever since he became a Prime." He revealed.

"And how long ago was that?" Epps inquired.

"This was before any of you were born. Falling back to the last millennia at least."

The two humans blinked in surprise as they estimated the time. It must've been decades of generations before they were born. And the elder mech hadn't laugh since then. Sam had to admit to himself, he couldn't live such a life like that. There were times when he felt like he was in a life with absolutely no laughs. But he couldn't truly make that his life. And yet, the Prime has, for over a thousand years no less.

Sam looked away from Bee and stared long and hard at the door the three left through, feeling a sense of pity and resolve at the pit of his stomach. When he did, he had missed the eyes of hurt and anguish looking on his back.

* * *

 ** _A few hours later…_**

Sam watched as Ironhide continued to shoot each target down, showing his cannons off. With a popcorn bag in hand and a comfortable seat behind the shooting range. Averting his attention for a second to the yellow Autobot, he noticed how the mechling shot off many charges at once. And like the black Transformer, each shot hit its mark, blowing away the battle dummies' heads.

After a few more rounds, the firing came down to a non-existing level. Bee and Ironhide made their way over to where Sam had sat, who now was sipping a bottle of soda as they took up the space beside him, at the point of crushing human if they were a meter or two closer.

The older mech turned to the smaller Autobot. "Bumblebee, you were shooting a little more wildly today. In a battle, you'd be wasting those shots."

The younger bot looked up with a little unease as he gave a Cybertronian version of a smile. "Sorry… Just something… going through my mind…" The radio worded.

"Anything to worry about?" Sam asked, pulling the straw away from his lips. Bee turned down and shook his head. In truth, he lied. The bot wasn't thinking of anything other than ways to show off to his human friend. Unfortunately, the teen didn't hold those eyes of amazement he'd usually see with a recruit around the base.

The three talked for a while as something nagged the back of the Witwicky's mind which he couldn't let go. It wasn't until he noticed that he was staring at the ground that snapped back to reality. Pulling up the courage, he faced the weapons specialist with a face of resolve. Bee noticed this as he was curious.

"Hey, Hide? Why doesn't Optimus laugh?" Sam asked, almost regretting his decision when the two bots froze (ironically) robotically. Bee insisted that the teen had taken the question back, quite unfortunately he didn't as he waited for a reply from the black mech. Ironhide stared at the human with wide optics before confirming that he had truly wanted an answer.

The mech shook his head lightly before deciding his words. "I'm only telling you this because I believe somewhere in my spark that you have a right to know, for bringing him back to the land of the living. And that I also believe that he should move on from it."

The boy was on the end of his seat as he waited for the mech to continue. Bee, who was beside them, was also curious of the answer. Not that he heard it in full detail, the yellow Autobot had only been given a brief summary of it. Like any teen/mechling, he'd be interested.

"It was about the time Optimus had first become Prime. Around that time, he had a bonded. A sparkmate. Her name was Elita-1, and she was the first ever Autobot femme, so of course she was treated much differently than others." A quick and short pain writhed through the teen's heart, but he ignored, believing it was nothing. "But that didn't change how Optimus nor most of us had seen her as a great friend. She was a strong warrior as well, almost matching the Prime."

Ironhide took a pause and pushed air out of his air vents, the Autobot version of a sigh. "Shortly after the ceremony for Optimus' inheritance, Elita-1 and her squad were sent off on recon mission. Sadly, they never returned nor were found." Bee was shocked to hear this, but allowed his mentor to continue. "We all took it pretty hard, but being that he was bonded with the femme, he took it the hardest. In the end, Optimus never believed that they were dead and just continued to believe so. But I think even he had lost himself along the way. And that's why he doesn't laugh."

For the minute, he allowed Sam and Bee to take in the information. Sam had stopped his snacking on his food and drink and drifted a gaze towards the ground. If Sam didn't feel bad about asking before, he sure was now. Looking at the leader right now, he couldn't imagine the pain that he had suffered. A pain so hard that had followed him over millennia. Now he had to guess what being 'bonded' really felt like. And the suffering when they lose a bond.

Both Autobots noticed the sad look in the human's eyes as the black bot spoke up. "Sam… Don't regret asking. I _chose_ to answer because I have hope." The weapons specialist rested a finger on the human's shoulder.

"Hope in what?"

" _You_." The single syllable rung in the teen's head for a few times before he snapped back to reality. "That you'll be the one who'll break through to him." The mech explained. For a moment, the college student felt a gust of wind hit his chest as a blush came to his head. Blinking it away, a smile was brought to his lips from the Autobot's earnest answer.

"I… I'll try my best. Thanks, Ironhide." Sam responded, as the gloomy atmosphere dispersed with both the scout and weapons specialist smiling in their own way.

"My pleasure."

"You know, you'd make a great uncle one day." Sam commented, watching as Hide stared in disbelief.

"Is that a compliment? Or an insult?"

"Maybe." The teen answered in a childish tone.

* * *

After Sam had left Bee and Ironhide, he decided to take another scenic tour of the base, noting all the places he's passed and the ones he hasn't seen yet. Thinking on what was best, he decided to stay on paths that he knew or were shown. At least that way, he wouldn't get lost which was a somewhat tendency of his. Speaking of tendencies, he looked about his route as he noticed that it was different from his memory.

Turning back, he walked a few metres to find that he couldn't even remember the last turn he took. Panic was starting to set in as he looked about the area, searching for any sign of life. Unfortunately, not a person was in sight. And in the heat of the moment, the teen began running, taking whichever turns he could. Maybe if he did bother looking back, then he would've noticed walking his way, but yet again, it was another tendency of his to not. Especially when being chased.

Looking ahead, another turn came up as he twisted his body, closing his eyes to blink. Unfortunately, yet another unfortunate outcome for him was that someone was taking the same turn, the two crashing with Sam knocked back on his rear. The two mumbled apologies after apologies before finally looking up to see who the other they had crashed into was.

"Samuel?" The teen pulled his eyes up, noting that only one person calls him by that and with that voice.

"Optimus? Oh god, I'm so, so sorry about that! I was just-" The Witwicky stopped mid-sentence, thinking on a way to phrase it without totally embarrassing himself.

"Just what?" The Prime asked, his blue eyes now staring straight at his own. Sam couldn't say what, but every time he'd look into those eyes or optics, he'd find his words caught in his throat.

"Um… uh… lost…" He admitted as could practically die on the spot from embarrassment. From the lack of a response, the leader must've thought that he was pathetic at this point. Averting his eyes to the corner, he didn't notice the hand abruptly placed on his head. Looking up, he was yet again, faced with a smile.

"Come, little one. I'll show you the way." Optimus said, turning around as he moved the hand down from the boy's head to catch the teen's palm. Sam noticed immediately as the blush intensified and he flinched from the contact for a moment. The Prime waited for the human for a second before he pulled him along, leading the way. The teen was far too busy taken by surprise than to notice the people that they had passed, some of them had stopping to stare at the two with wide mouths.

When his sense of reality did come back, he looked to sides where audiences lined up in awe. Then they stopped. His hand still held onto by the Prime for a few seconds longer before it was released. Optimus looked around for a moment, ignoring the frozen soldiers before turning to the teen. "Here we are. I strongly advise that you don't wander around too much without one of us with you."

"…" Sam stood silent, his flushed face revealed his embarrassment. Forget digging a hole and crawling into it, he'd rather leave the entire planet all together than walk hand-in-hand with the Autobot leader… Not that it was a bad thing. Sooner rather than later, Optimus noticed the colour red that had burnt the teen's face. A hand reaching out to touch the cheek, Sam jolted in surprise but stood still.

"Are you alright, Sam? Your face is glowing red. Should I go get Ratchet-"

"No!" Sam had flat out interjected, knowing the medic would most likely give the same comment during their first meeting. As much as the human had wanted to admit, he was clearly flushed from the contact. If either the leader or the medic heard about it, they'd more than likely take it the wrong way.

Optimus was cut off guard from the sudden response as he gazed confusingly at the teen. "I-I'm fine. Just a… _human_ thing." He lied. Technically, he didn't lie, just holding back on the whole truth. Just when the Prime had seemed to space off, the Witwicky quickly predicted that he was searching it on the World Wide Web and so, decided to cut in before he found out. At least, not while he stood right in front of him. " Anyways," Sam spoke loudly, snapping Optimus back to reality and cutting of his search engine. "Thanks for helping big guy."

"Anytime, Sam. But I have to ask, how did you get _that_ far away from the main corridors?"

"I guess, it's because I space out more often than not."

"Something weighing your mind?" He asked.

"…" The teen thought for a moment, looking back to his nightmares. Not only that, but also the story about Optimus' past. He didn't land back down on Earth until his name was called.

"Sam?"

"… No. It's nothing, Optimus. I'm alright." He lied, keeping his eyes away from the holoform's. The Prime stared a little longer, suspicion aroused from the back of his processor. For now, he didn't question it, changing the subject.

"I see. Would you like to join me and the others for dinner in the cafeteria?"

Sam turned back with a small smile before replying with, "Sure."


	3. Sorry

**_Note: I am not 'great' with fight scenes and this might be to the best of my abilities in the chapter. Just be warned if I ever try and do crazy shit like this. If it comes to other fandoms (where alien weapons aren't being used), I can do somewhat better. But since this was filled with technical jargon I don't have, this is the best I got._**

 ** _Also, it gets pretty sappy in this chapter. YOU WERE WARNED!_**

* * *

The night was calm as four more days had passed since his time on the base. And the thought that peace was finally back along with all the entertainment when outside of a classroom. That was until a blaring alarm had awoken the entire base, knocking most soldiers and civilians out of their beds. Sam was no exception as he tumbled when red lights blared in his room.

His first thought when his face met the ground was where he'd get a large enough hammer for his alarm clock. But as he pried his eyes open, he noticed his entire room was flickering red, a clear sign of danger. Pushing himself up, Sam got to his feet and looked up to the lights which continued to flicker red while a deafening blare pierced his brain.

As he grabbed his hands and covered his ears, he grabbed any pair of clothes he could out of his suitcase and dressed himself immediately. Thinking back to a day or two ago, he remembered the instructions the Prime had given him. _'Wait at your room and lock yourself in until I send someone to escort you out. Otherwise, I'll find you.'_ He had strictly instructed. He was thankful his mind kicked in during emergencies to actually remember that. And if someone was coming to pick him up, he'd rather run in something other than his pyjamas.

What he dressed in was a simple t-shirt with long pants. As he pulled on his shoes, a rapid knock came at the door, notifying that someone was there. Grabbing only his phone, the teen ran to the door, revealing Captain Lennox on the other side, already fully dressed in army uniform as well as a gun in his hands.

"C'mon kid! We gotta' get you outta' here!" He instructed, Sam giving a quick nod before escaping out the door, Will closing it behind as the two began to run. The soldier led the way through different turns in corridors as Sam noticed other soldiers running around as well.

"What's happening?" Sam questioned as the two took a turn.

"Apparently, someone spotted Starscream above flying over us." The adult male had briefed, stepping aside as soldiers came their way. Sam followed suit before continuing the jog.

Then a rumble came as the ground shook, forcing Sam to lean on the wall next to him and Will kneeling down to regain balance. The rumble continued for a few seconds with dust crumbling above their heads before they continued on. After the first, a few more came as they struggled to maintain balance, ground shaking more violently than the last. Before long, a voice came over the speakers.

WEAPONS HANGAR HAS BEEN DESTROYED! I REPEAT, WEAPONS HANGAR HAS BEEN DESTROYED!

The soldier gave out a curse before the two reached towards a double-door. Judging from the signs on the doors, it was an emergency exit for civilians as Will opened it, indicating for the teen to head out first. Sam did not waste time as he stepped out and turned back to the large building. The place had caught fire in multiple spots as smoke rose from those damaged areas.

When Will had come in front of the teen, he began shouting orders. "Listen, I need to go back there and get my men together. You think you'll be fine on your own?"

"I can help too-"

"Not an option. Civilian lives first." The captain stated, shaking his head in disapproval.

"I've been in one too many of these to be called a 'civilian'. You know I can help."

"Look, it's not about if you 'can'. It's that your life matters. And we're not going to let you throw it away. Besides, Optimus would have my head if he caught you still inside." Will reasoned, leaving the Witwicky frustrated as he knew the man was right. Silently, he gave in with a nod. "Good. Now go lay low somewhere until we find you. Knowing Starscream, this can take all night."

And with that and a simple nod, the soldier went back inside the building, leaving Sam alone to stare up at the structure. There was a moment before the sound of jet engines soaring through the sky had come and a large shadow that flew across the air, telling the boy to run towards a few trees. As he looked up to find no plane in sight, he slumped his back against a tree.

Once again, he was useless in a battle. He hated that feeling more than anything. Even more than the nightmares he has. It's not the fact that Optimus died in those dreams, it's the fact that Sam could've saved him in those events. His fingers dig into his opposite arms, tempting blood to spill forth. The feeling was the same as how he had been protected by everybody. Suffocated. Another missile was shot at the base, creating another wave from the explosion before the sound of returning gunfire made him look out.

Up on top of the building were Optimus, Bee and Ironhide as they struggled to find their flying target in the night. Unlike the city, there were no constant lights to help them see in the dark. Other than their optics, that was their only source of sight. But even that was hard. With their backs to each other, their firearm were ready at hand.

A missile shot came close to their heads but just missed as Optimus pushed each other out of the way. Then a voice came through loud speakers. The voice was that of Starscream, prompting that he had hijacked the network.

"Give us the Allspark and all will be spared!" The voice ordered. The base took a moment to process it before it had clicked what the 'Con really wanted. **Sam**. Surprisingly, the three Autobots at the top spoke in unison, Bee using his voice for once in front of others.

"Never!" Reloading their shots before shooting at different points in the sky. A few stray shots scraped at the jet's wing, but never gave full contact. A final shot was fired as it had blown the three apart from each other, a few curses leaving Ironhide while Optimus and Bee groaned.

A thought had struck the college student as they fell. A dumb idea, but an idea at least. Not much thought was put through as he began sprinting out of the tree line, heading for the set of ladders leading to the top of the building. Whilst climbing it, he heard the sounds of more shots being fired, almost stumbling and falling off the ladder while the rumbling shook. He faltered for a minute to catch his breath before advancing with trembling hands.

When he reached the roof, he was swayed by the constant wind that blew him back. Going down onto his hands and feet, he moved slowly. He carefully made his way to where a corner of the building was. Pushing himself onto two feet, he looked to the sky as he saw another shadow fly over. Making a funnel around his mouth, he shouted.

"Starscream!" His voice caught the attention of the Transformers around him, as most were horrified to see that he was there with them.

"No S-"

"You want me? You're going to have to catch me!" Sam taunted, running when he heard the sound of jet slowly approaching. Turning his direction towards the nearest Autobot, he began to run to the Prime which was on his knee with his gun ready at hand. It took a moment for the leader to catch on with the human's idea, reacting quickly when he noticed the plane flying behind the human.

"Bumblebee, Ironhide! Weapons at ready!"

Sam sprinted fast as he knew had faith in the Autobot leader. Optimus waited a seconds as the outline of the jet had finally been viewable. The plane drew close to the building in a matter of seconds as his finger curled around the trigger. As the gun was fired, the teen relied on his reflexes and jumped down, the specialised-bullet soaring over his head. Unfortunately, when he jumped, he didn't account for the hard ground that was to come. And in a moment of great bravery, Sam was out cold.

* * *

 ** _A few hours later…_**

The next time Sam had come to, the first thing he noticed was the blaring white light. Then it was the sound of arguing in the room he was in. As he groaned, he noticed that the arguing had been silenced for a moment before he heard a call.

"Sam?"

He groaned again, the headache finally hitting him in full force. As he reached a hand up to the side of head, he felt the fabric that wrapped around it, telling him it was a bandage. When he blinked himself awake, he found it hard to stay focus for too long before things got blurry. He coped with it for the moment while he looked at the faces that stared down at him. God, how he cursed that it had to be them that saw him in his position.

"Sam, are you awake?" Bee's holoform asked, the same amount of worry and concern on his face as the other three.

"… Yeah. Just give me a moment to think straight." Sam replied, squeezing his eyes shut before reopening them.

"That'll be the pain killers. It should lessen the effects of your headache." Ratchet commented from the other side of the bed, looking down at what had looked like a data-pad recording his vitals.

"Great… How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. But you sure gave us all one Pit of a scare." Ironhide added, standing back with his arms crossed, dropping his rear onto the provided chair.

"Perfect. And Starscream?"

"… He retreated." Optimus stated, looking down at the teen with a stroke of guilt.

"Oh…" Sam dumbly said, not sure if he should say anything else.

"Oh? Oh?! Don't 'oh' me when you charged in that battlefield with no thought process whatsoever!" Ratchet complained, turning a menacing glare towards him whilst Bee rushed to the other side of the bed to calm down the medic. And boy did he look like he was ready to slap the teen on the backside of his head. That had made Sam wonder how it would turn out if he didn't have his title as a doctor.

"… Sorry…"

The holoform held the glare for a minute longer before releasing it with a sigh. "Next time, please think before you act. Don't think I won't ask for Captain Lennox to have someone watch you 24/7."

"Sorry to make you all worry."

"Oh we're past the borderline of worry. Though I was tempted to blast the 'Con a new one." The weapons specialist raised an eyebrow, making the human give out a light chuckle.

"That's reassuring." Sam stopped mid-laughter when he looked over to the Prime and saw a dark face on his expression. He couldn't say, but he felt his gut turn inside out when he noticed that the Autobot wasn't meeting his eyes. "Optimus?"

A pause of silence hit the room before a single word ran out of the leader's mouth. "Why?"

"Huh?"

Approaching the bed's rail, he had his hands on it before speaking more firmly. "Why did you go in? You knew the dangers and the warnings we've given. So why?" He asked, his angered expression now visible to all. Sam took a moment to respond, thinking carefully to understand the situation.

"I… I saw a situation where you guys needed help. Being that I was the one he was after, I-"

"That's not the point!" Optimus shouted, scaring the group. Never in their life did they think that the Prime would bark with such volume against anyone other than enemies. Even more surprising when he did so to Sam. A most trusted friend of their group. Ratchet, being the more sensible one out of the three shocked Autobots, planned to step in.

"Optimus, I think-"

"Optimus. What do you mean 'it's not the point'? He was after me. I had to step in. It's simple." Sam retorted, standing his ground as the three bystanders were left quiet in awe. Three large surprises in one day would surely have anyone silent. One being the attack, the second being the volume of their leader's voice, and the last being the human's courage. Either that or his plain recklessness.

"You're saying the endangerment of your life is 'simple'?" He questioned.

"Compared to you, Bee and Ironhide, **yes**." He stated, drawing the attention of the two bots named. Oh how they wanted to step in the conversation as well, wanting to deny the boy's thoughts. Luckily, they knew better to stay out of this when things get heated between someone and the Prime. And vice versa with Sam.

Optimus was frankly shocked at the answer. Did Sam really think that? That his life was lesser to that of his own and his family? Sam's eyes didn't deny his thoughts, so he wasn't hesitating nor lying when he answered. The Prime hated that belief. That one life was worth more than another. To the point that he clearly stated it during some of his battles. Hearing the opposite come from a close friend ached his spark.

"Sam, no matter how much you say that, you are clearly **wrong**. What in the name of Primus made you believe that?" Optimus said, his tone going deeper.

"It's not a matter of belief. It's the social order of the world. I'm sorry I didn't listen to your guys' warnings, but I don't see what I did wrong." Optimus clenched his teeth as he heard that, feeling his spark bear the pain of the past. He felt his memories rising to torment him as he turned away with a huff of breath, hiding his face as he headed for the door.

"Ratchet, have someone stay with Sam 24/7 while he stays on the base." Optimus ordered, bubbling shock and surprise from both races.

"What?!" Sam blurted out, pushing himself up to gaze at the leader's back while Ratchet got to his side, shouting a few words in Cybertronian.

.: _Optimus, this is not the way to go._ :. Ironhide advised over the comm-link. But of course, the Prime knew that. But if it meant keeping Sam out of harm's way, then he'd gladly take any negative feelings of the human teen.

"You can't just decide that!" Sam argued as he was being held down from standing up by the yellow mechling and the medic.

"Yes I can and I will!" Spinning on his feet as he glared down the college student.

"I may respect you big guy, but that doesn't mean you can decide what happens with me!"

"No, but I am the superior in this case and my word is an order!" He spun on his shoe and concluded quite harshly. "And that is _final_ , **Elita**!"

The room went entirely silent. Everyone froze on the last word that left the Prime's tongue, Sam baffled in a state of shock. It had been only a few days since Sam had heard that name once, yet it had been burnt into the back of his mind. Unconsciously, the blonde and the doctor had released their grip, too busy focused on their leader and brother. Ironhide looked up in his seat, cursing internally as it had revealed that the elder had yet to let go of the past.

Sam broke the silence with a single word. "What?"

And then the Prime was gone, extinguishing his holoform into particles of light. When his mind returned back to the Peterbilt within his hangar, he began to question himself. Why did he say that? It was completely irrelevant to the argument and yet his mouth moved on its own. As if acting out a scene. Frankly, why was he angry with the human in the first place? He had no room to complain when he'd do the exact same thing in the scenario. Then all of a sudden he was shouting at the teen before disappearing. Didn't Sam understand that the order he gave was to protect him? Thinking back to every word said in that room, it had hurt to think about it.

Spending the next few hours, he contemplated everything said. Both by him and the Witwicky.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, back in the room…_**

The group was silent with only the sound of Ratchet punching a few buttons and giving a few scans on the human. They were all thinking the same thing, but none chose to voice it as of yet. Obviously, they were still amazed how the two, which were the greatest of friends, could argue so harshly at one another. Then Sam, came to conclusion.

"Ironhide," He called. "What didn't you tell us when you were explaining Optimus' past?"

The black mech froze in his seat and looked up with weary eyes. Heaving a sigh, lifted his head up and rested his arms on the arm-rest of the chair. "… Before Elita-1 was sent off on her mission, the two had a dispute. I couldn't remember the exact details, but apparently it had involved _their_ previous mission as she risked her life to save his."

"…"

"I'm guessing he thought back to that point during this dispute. Damn mech still hasn't let it go. Don't hold it against him." A dark air drifted onto Sam's mind before he looked up.

"I won't. But if only he has the guts to apologise first."

"… Well it seems your readings are fine, for now. I won't hold you in this room but I will prescribe you some much needed rest and healing time. Don't move around to fast or try anything in the word range of 'idiotic' and eat healthily. If you feel any pain, come see me at once." Ratchet explained as he began shutting off most of the equipment.

"Thanks, Ratchet."

"… From my better judgement, I'll ignore Optimus' last orders. But, promise me you will keep safe from now on."

A nod of agreement finalised the ordeal as Ironhide left the room first. Bee watched his friend climb out of the bed before taking slow, but even, steps. The holoform led the way back to the human's room, confirming that the boy will be fine for the rest of the day before turning in for a much needed recharge.

Sam waved a good bye before looking to the window of his room. It had been early sunrise and he was exhausted. As he made his way to his bed, he collapsed down on the blankets and pillow, hiding his eyes. Slowly, silent tears gushed out into the pillow, thinking back to how the leader had called out someone else's name.

* * *

 ** _A few days later…_**

The teen turned another corner as he saw the little particles of light float into the air. Now he was getting annoyed. Sure, the argument between himself and the Prime left a bitter taste for everyone, especially enough for one to avoid the other for a few days. This included Sam locking himself in his room as it was the same with Optimus bolting the door to his office. But seriously? Dispersing the holoform as soon as the teen was in sight. That was just plain rude and annoying. Of course, there were times when even he had turned the other way, but that only lasted three days-max. It was reaching almost a week and half since they last spoke and everyone on base could feel the tension in the air when around the two.

Will and Epps were given a rundown from Bee of what happened as they did everything they could to avoid the subject. Sadly, that was proving harder than it was when a certain request was given to the two.

Sam pushed forward as he found the two well-known soldiers conversing between each, looking as if they were arguing. Approaching them, the college student listened in on a few of the details.

"Why do I have to tell him?" Will inquired.

"He's more comfortable if you told him." Epps reasoned. "I'd rather pay you than tell him myself."

"No way am I telling Sam."

"Tell me what?" The teen questioned, scaring the life out of the two soldiers. The two gave nervous chuckles as they shuffled a little further away.

"H-Hey kid. How've you been doin'?" Epps asked. The teen rolled his eyes, knowing this treatment. It seemed like more often than not, people have trouble giving him the truth face-to-face.

"Okay. Let's skip the part where I 'pretend' I don't know what you're talking about and just tell me what you guys know." Sam spoke blatantly. The two soldiers exchanged a glance, giving in when they knew they didn't have a chance.

"Well, Optimus asked us to tell you that he wants to speak with you in his office."

"Alone." Epps added after Will finished. If Sam's face wasn't impressed before, he certainly isn't now as the frown curved deeper. A sigh escaped the teen's lips.

"Tell him I won't meet with him until he comes to me." Sam instructed, turning back and making his way back to his room.

* * *

A few knocks came from the door as Sam didn't even bat an eye before raising his speaking volume.

"Bee, don't bother. I'm not going until he apologises."

There was silence, then the heavy trudging of metal footsteps walking away from the door. Sam flicked to the next page of his book, wondering what other ridiculous plan _he_ was going to try next.

* * *

When a knock came to his door a second time during the day, he glanced up to the kitchen's clock. 9:47. Took the sentient being one week, two days, fifteen hours and eleven minutes to get it right. Not that he was counting. Too bad the Prime had come when he was currently busy cooking himself up lasagne. Another sigh escaped his lips as he pulled off the oven mitts, throwing them onto the table before grabbing a towel.

As he made his way towards the door with one hand using the towel to clean the other, he wondered if it was truly the leader this time. When his hand came to the knob, he twisted it open and was finally face-to-face with Optimus' holoform since a week ago. He wasn't surprised to see that the man had his frown a few centimetres lower and his gaze showing no emotion.

As much as he wanted not to, he allowed his guest in. "Come in." He said, stepping aside as the holoform stepped in the room with a small 'thank you' as quiet as a whisper. After closing the door, he made his way back to the kitchen, Optimus following a second behind. "Take a seat." The words coming out more like an order than an offer.

"…" The man abided the instruction as Sam went back to cooking. Optimus said nothing for the time being, choosing silence over speaking. If they were going to have a _talk_ , then he'd rather do it face to face. And trust him, this was going to be a real _long_ talk.

The teen continued until it was five past ten where he sat down with his own plate of food, a glass of water and eating utensils. Letting the food simmer off on the side, Sam stared blankly at Optimus as the Cybertronian did the same. While Sam waited for the leader to talk, the Cybertronian words reappeared, floating mostly around the Prime's holoform. He ignored it as Optimus pried his lips open to speak.

"I'm sorry, Samuel." The Autobot apologised. Sam stayed quiet a little longer. "I'm sorry for my last orders given to Ratchet and I'm sorry for raising my voice against you. I'm sorry for trying to contact you via other means and should've respected your wishes the moment I heard about them." Still, as Optimus kept the gaze held on the teen, no reply came. It was then that his eyes fell lower. "I do not wish of you to forgive me, but rather I would like you to know how I feel every time I see you and/or vice versa."

"…" Sam felt a prick of regret in his heart as he knew that the mech wasn't the only one that should've apologised. Down casting his gaze as well, he found himself staring at the table separating them. A sigh leaving his lips for the third time that day. "I guess… I'm sorry as well. I knew it was dangerous that night, but I couldn't risk losing any one of you…" Sam wanted to add an 'again' to his apology, but he knew it would stir up something more troubling. Anyways, he was still waiting for the raven-haired man to apologise for one last thing.

As Optimus looked up, he spoke again with more confidence in his voice, the worry and guilt still in his tone. "Sam, please know that you aren't the only feeling that way. But even in a war, no number of lives are worth any more than one. Not even yours."

"… I'm sorry." Sam was still waiting for that one last 'sorry' the man had to give.

"I understand and forgive you, but please think better before heading into a battle." Sam nodded as silence fell over the table. Waiting only a few seconds, he expected the apology but nothing came. Looking up, Sam met worried eyes.

"That's all?" Optimus, confused by the question, nodded before responding.

"That's all." A twinge of pain struck deep in the human's chest as he twitched with Optimus noticing. "Am I forgetting something?"

"… No… It's nothing." Of course the Prime could pick out the lie, this time if he's going to get the teen to fully forgive him, then he'll have to face everything.

"Sam, I-"

A burst through the door stopped his sentence as their heads spun immediately towards the sound of the door slamming open and nervous breaths. They were greeted by the sight of Ironhide at the door, looking like a he cracked eggshells under his foot.

"S-Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get moving Optimus. **Now**." The weapons specialist said, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere but there unless urgent.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We've just picked up a distress signal coming into the solar system. Cybertronian." He stated as Optimus stood up from his seat.

"Could it be the Ark?" A shake of the holoform's head brought the Prime's expectation down.

"Too small to be of the Ark. But we will need to go and give them coordinates on where to land and greet them when they do."

"Alright." As the man at the door left first, the leader turned down to look at Sam.

"Go. We can talk afterwards." Sam decided as Optimus wavered for a moment before giving an unsure nod. Walking out of the room, he closed the door on his way out. He stared at the door, wondering what he had forgotten. Taking off to the communication room.

* * *

Entering the domain, Optimus was met with a dimly lit room with cables running just about at every point of the room. He was surprised how none could _not_ trip in such an environment, but he guessed most of the ones that worked here, usually switching between Ratchet and Ironhide, are careful. Or at least as careful as they could be. At the back of the room were rows and sets of screens as each one held a different sensor. Behind them were the other Autobots as they all ducked their heads down, even though they still held their holoforms.

Optimus stood behind the bots, opening his audi- _ears_ out for the conversation between Ratchet and the signal. It had seemed they had already established communication. But as a voice came over the radio, both the leader and weapons specialist had tensed.

" **This is Lumos Aria. We have been stranded for many vorns now, undertaking hyper-space recharge to conserve energon rations. But we have steadily been losing more each vorn unless we can find a deposit. Please indicate if there are any around your location."** The voice asked, sounding as if a plea.

Optimus pushed through the crowd to the front, earning a few 'heys' from those pushed. As he leant down to the microphone, he looked to the speaker and spoke Cybertronian. " **Elita-1, is that you?"**

There was silence, then the voice returned. " **Orion Pax**?"

The Prime, had it not been for his pride, would've broken down on the spot. Joyous as his mate had finally returned.


	4. Done

Sam drummed his fingers quietly against his desk, staring blankly at his book. He had been given the task to write a story of his own over the holidays as an assignment. At first, it seemed simple enough. But now as he looked at the piece of paper, he was having second doubts after watching it for the last hour or so. When an idea came, it was either too predictable or too random to be classified as an 'idea'. His small trashcan filled with scrunched up papers while his mind was as empty as space.

His eyes drifted over to the table clock, noticing that it was soon reaching midnight. Almost two hours since he's seen the Prime and two hours of waiting. He'd hope to continue talking, but he couldn't blame the Autobot. No one could really. As he turned back to the paper in front of him, he soon found that it was impossible to continue when his mind was taken up by other subjects. But if he stopped now, he'd have to face the fear of another nightmare striking his dreams. And honestly, he didn't want anyone to barge into his room when he screams.

Dropping his pen, the teen pulled out his phone and flicked through the apps, unsure of what to do for the rest of the night. He'd sleep, yes. But not when everyone nor anyone was occupying the rooms beside his. For a moment, he'd thought of calling one of the others, just talking to past the time. But then again, most of them would either advise him or force him to sleep.

A yawn escaped his mouth as he turned back to the conveniently large table that could fit his books, pens, lamp and table clock, coincidentally large enough for two arms and a head. The temptation overtook him as he laid his head on his arms while his limbs crossed over each other. Just a light nap wouldn't a hurt anyone. As his eyes closed, he found himself quickly lost within the night.

* * *

As Optimus opened the door to the human's room, he poked his head in to check if the boy was sleeping. It wasn't surprising that he was. It was surprising _where_ he slept. Pushing the door farther open, he cocked his head in confusion when he noticed the teen was on his table, breathing lightly. The Prime shook his head in a disapproving way before drawing closer to the table.

When arriving a foot away from Sam, he was about to wake the boy, thinking it was unsafe to sleep there. But as he noticed the innocent face the Witwicky had, he flushed instantly as his spark's engine revved. The man shook away the heat before staring intensely. His inside stirred as he leaned down, hooking an arm under the teen's legs before another came to his back. Silently and carefully, he lifted Sam up, resting the boy's head on his chest before moving towards the bed.

A whisper stopped him. "… Op… tim… us…"

For a moment, he thought that he had been caught red handed, but as he looked down, he found that the brunet showed no sign of consciousness. He breathed a sigh of relief before continuing, laying the human's body down on the bed. The teen stirred for another second before a blanket was wrapped over him

As he made a bee line towards the door, he flicked the lamp off and stared back at the entrance. Without knowing what he was doing, his lips had moved speaking in silent Cybertronian. " **Sweet recharge,** Samuel." When he left with the door closed, he questioned his words once more, disappearing back to his original body. The boy would meet his bonded tomorrow.

* * *

 ** _The next day…_**

The elder waited patiently as the ship his mate had flown was about to land down in front of the base, many troops and most of the other Autobots waiting to greet them upon their arrival. The only one who hadn't been with them was Sam and Bee, which barely anyone had decided to tell the teen about. Optimus thought it'd make a great surprise to introduce them to one another while Ironhide thought otherwise.

As the fairly large ship touched down, the large hangar doors on the side of the ship opened, creating a set of stairs down to the earth, in which Optimus stood in front of. A smile tugged his lips when he met her optics with his. Restraining himself from running to the femme and hugging her, the Prime waited patiently as Elita walked down the set of stairs.

Elita-1 looked the same as usual. Sharp edges in her external frame and a pale orange armour matching her white body. Strapped to her thigh was a holstered pistol while on her other leg was a hidden knife. Her eyes a little lighter than Optimus' but darker than Bumblebee's.

Then the leader noticed something, his face twitching just a second to reveal his concern.

There was no pulse. As far back as he could remember, every time the two would meet optics or come into a close radius, then there'd be a pulse felt through his spark. Something like a heartbeat, in human terms. But one that'd be able to detect each other's emotions through. It was the very symbolisation that the two were bonded. And yet, nothing. Not even the engine within the spark was revving. And the Prime wasn't the only one that noticed as the two stopped to stare at each other.

Their minds brought back to reality when a few steps came behind the femme bot. Looking behind her, she found it was one of her teammates, Iceracer, approaching with as she scanned the surroundings. The Prime and femme soldier knew each through acquaintances, which so happens to be standing in between them.

" **This looks like a great planet. Full of organisms I haven't even heard nor seen before.** " The blue Autobot had commented, standing beside her leader. When Elita shook her head as an Autobot version of smile had struck her lips.

" **I guess we should count ourselves lucky that Orion had settled in the place before us.** " The Prime smirked before looking down to the human captain, noticing that him and the rest of his squad were covering their ears. Turning back, he cut in the short conversation.

" **Before I forget, I would advise speaking in a language in which the inhabitants of this planet can understand. Cybertronian frequency is painful among their audio receptors.** " Optimus explained as the two bots looked to the unknown lifeforms below them, noticing how their hands are to their heads. The two took a moment to both download the English dictionary into their processors and ask the same of their teammates through the comm-links. The first to try out their vocals was Elita, who kneeled down to the small beings.

"I am sorry for inflicting pain onto your audio receptors. My name is Elita-1, and this is my co-pilot, Iceracer."

Will was the first to remove his hands and ignore the ringing in his ear as he responded with, "It's no problem. I am William Lennox. Captain Commander of NEST Headquarters and temporary ambassador for Autobots and humans." Will greeted, feeling slightly awkward when speaking with his head up.

Elita nodded to this before standing back up. "Elita, I have to say I am quite overjoyed to see you. But I must ask sooner or later, what happened?" The femme looked worried to speak as her optics drifted low.

"We should… talk about this inside… where only Autobots hear of it…" The Prime nodded as his servos coming up to hold the femme's side in comforting gesture.

"Of course. But you should also be informed of the things that have transpired while your ship was away."

* * *

"What?! The Allspark is gone?!" Elita exclaimed, as the news came to her slowly, with Ironhide and Ratchet giving their side of stories. Unfortunately, her voice went a volume higher than one could stand as they winced before continuing.

"Unfortunately, yes." Optimus stated.

"How are we supposed to rebuild Cybertron if we don't have the very key to do so?"

"… That's what we've been trying to find out during the past stellar cycles (7.5 months)."

"And? What of Megatron?"

"He's currently in hiding, hopefully for a while at best." The weapons specialist cut in as he polished the cannon in his arm. The femme leader had controlled her stress before looking back to her love.

"And you? You said you had offlined once. If so, how are you still here?" Optimus winced at the memory, the last person before he died and the first to pull him back from the Well of All Sparks. As he reached a hand to his chassis, it had slowly released itself open before a flying object with soft blue light floated out onto his metallic hand.

"Because of this. And _him_. This here is the Matrix of Leadership, a key for the ancient Primes' star-harvester. It had been used by a certain someone to revive me. And it can only be held by two hands. One of which is not Cybertronian." Finishing the explanation, he carefully slotted the delicate object back into its place. "What about you? You've yet to recount what had disconnected us."

Elita looked pained, but spoke. "… When we arrived at the retrieval point, we were ambushed. The ones who we were supposed to rescue had attacked us under orders of Megatron. I believe that he thought if he'd kill me, he'd cause pain to you."

"…"

"Luckily, we had managed to escape. But we had lost our medic and have had our communication systems rendered useless. Best we could do was send a distress signal while we floated among space, conserving the energy we had and stopping where we had found an energon source. Even then, those sources were small." She summarised, the recount adding to the Prime's regret and guilt.

Silence filled the room for a second, each mech feeling pity for both leaders. Elita noticed the look the bots had given to her, deciding that it was best to change the subject. "… So, who is this other person that saved you?"

The leader understood what the femme had done and merely lifted his head. Optimus looked to the door leading into the large rec room, custom made for the Autobots when they have to wait for a short time. Conveniently, it was the only place that seemed to hold private ears for the Autobots and very little soldiers were allowed through. Staring at a corner for a while, the room went silent with confused looks.

Then a voice had come from entrance. "Alright! Alright big guy! I'm stepping in."

When Sam had stepped in, he was surprised by how many Autobots could fit in such a room. For someone like him, he couldn't stand packed spaces. Yet the large forms made it look almost too easy to find a place comfortable and lean against it. On one side of the room was Optimus and the others, excluding Bumblebee who had stuck by his side for the entire morning and is following behind him. On the other side of the room were new faces. One, which Sam noted, was most likely the leader of the arrivals while around 5 others stared behind from her.

As he strolled up beside their pedes, he looked to the Prime with Bee stumbling behind him.

"How'd you know we were there?" Sam questioned.

"I picked up a slight footstep a few minutes earlier."

"Ah. Should've gone with 'sneakers'. You know I could feel your optics on the other side of the wall?" The human joked before waving up to the femme leader. "Nice to meet you."

Elita leant down before looking up to Optimus. He gave a nod of approval, understanding what the femme had wanted. As she lowered a servo down onto the ground, an order went out her vocals. "Step on, human." A little peeved at the tone, he stepped on as the ground was pulled away from him and he was staring eye to blue optics.

As a metallic finger came from one side, it poked the teen who was nudged slightly from different sides, taking an almost drunk step that direction. "And you're sure this is it?" Elita asked, wondering how something so small, so fragile and so defenceless could be as worthy as a Prime.

" _Him_. And yes, Samuel is the strongest soul out of all of us to still aid us when it is not his fight."

"Is this true, human?"

" _Sam_. And yeah, more or less had one too many close calls with Decepticons." Sam replied. Then before he knew it, his feet had begun sliding off the servo. It wouldn't have mattered unless he was falling from Cybertronian height as his legs were not going to survive the impact.

As flawless as ever, the Prime jumped into action as his servo came below the fall and had caught the human with care. With the same amount of care, he pulled the human in before placing him lightly on the floor. "Elita, be careful how you treat humans. Yes, they are fragile and small, but they hold an even greater amount of emotion within them."

If it weren't for their Prime standing in the room, the rest would've surely been giving an earful for the femme. Elita looked hurt how here bonded was speaking against her. Whilst Sam steadied himself on the ground, he looked back up. "It's alright, Optimus. She didn't know."

Optimus turned down. "Forgive her, Samuel."

* * *

 ** _A few hours later…_**

The base was quiet today. Optimus had noticed this when he went into the medical room. Usually, he'd have thought medic would've been working on one of his new findings. But with the time they had on Earth, Ratchet wasn't one of those in a rush. The Prime looked around the room before finding Ratchet fixing one of the tables whenever they were needed.

As he strolled up in his tall glory, it was impossible not to notice. But the medic did nothing and continued his work while the Prime stood on the other side of the bed. "Ratchet. We need to talk."

"Where are the others?"

"Getting used to their holoforms. But that's beside the point. I think I'm ill." Optimus believed.

"How so? It's been over a week since our last battle and you only sustained superficial damage." The other Cybertronian questioned, stopping in the middle of his work to address the situation.

"Not external damage. But ever since Elita-1 had set foot onto the planet, I haven't felt a pulse from her." The leader stated. Looking over with a bewildered look, he began his questioning.

"Are you sure? Maybe it is because you two have been separated for too long."

"But that can't be right either. There should always be a pulse whenever sparkmates meet. No matter the time."

"… What I'd suggest is to give it _time_. Since you've been offlined before, I can give you two possible verdicts." Ratchet said.

"Which are?"

"One, your bond was lost when you offlined and will take time to return. Two, when you offlined, you prevented the ability to bond any longer in this world." The medic concluded, folding his arms over each other.

"Is that even possible?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But since you have a rare case of reviving, all concepts are out the window. So when you'd say a bond lasts for a lifetime, remember that you have been to and back from the other side, past your lifetime if not for Samuel." Ratchet explained, looking to the bed.

"I see. Thank you, Ratchet." The Prime turned away as he walked away from the beds. When his name was called, he turned back.

"Optimus, one other thing. If my first theory is true and it does take time to rebuild a bond, can I ask if you truly want it?"

"What? Of course I would. What else would you mean by that?" He inquired, a little shocked.

"… Never mind. It's nothing…"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yes, Bee?"

"Are you mad?" The holoform taking long strides.

"No. Why?"

"Cause' you're kinda' walking faster than usual."

"I just have somewhere I got to be."

"Which is why you're now running?" Bee questioned. Sam stopped abruptly, noticing that he was out of breath in the middle of nowhere once more.

When he looked around, he was in the exact same place Optimus had found him a week ago. This time, it was completely empty except for the two. A sigh left the human's mouth before he slumped down onto a wall, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes.

"Is something wrong, Sam?"

"No, no. It just hurts."

"What?! Where?!" With quick action, the blonde was beside his friend with worried eyes. Slipping into Cybertronian, Sam winced at the frequency before calming the yellow Camaro down with a hand.

"It's not pain. It's just… weird on the inside." The teen vaguely explained, pointing towards his stomach.

"Stomach ingestion?"

"No."

"Liver failure?"

"No…"

"… Should I call Ratchet?" The blonde asked, quickly gaining the attention of the human.

"God no! I'd lock the twins in your room if you did." He threatened, earning a chuckle from the holoform.

"Alright. But please tell me if it gets worse." A nod eased the Autobot, but not entirely when he sat down beside the human. "Sam, what's wrong?" Another breath pushed out before the college student answered.

"… Ever have that feeling when you see someone you like with someone else?"

"I'm assuming you're talking about Optimus?" From the quick prediction, the Witwicky turned a bright red. His eyes growing wide as he stumbled on his next few words.

"W-What!? N-N-No! What m-makes y-ya' th-"

"Sam. I **know**." Sam stared into the holoform's blue eyes, trying to uncover if the blonde was lying. What he saw were eyes of the wise. Turning away, he placed his palms in his hands. He couldn't deny it himself. His heart now belonged to the Prime. But knowing that it could never work out between the two, or if the Cybertronian would even respond to such feelings, he dismissed it as a foolish thought. Heck, he didn't know how it even began. For the longest time, he thought of the Prime as a father-figure. But ever since Egypt…

He had managed to contain the attraction for a while. At times, even the teen had lost control to the feeling. His body heating up and his heart rate increasing. He then had to ask, "Was it that obvious?"

"To answer both questions, yes."

"And how do you deal with it? That awful feeling?"

"Well, I think of them. Which one of us could make the one we like happy? If it turns out to be the other person, then you don't say anything."

"And you're okay with that?" He questioned.

"… You want the truth or what you _want_ to be the truth?"

Thinking for a moment, he wondered which would be easier to hear. Maybe both. "Can I hear the first?"

"Alright. I'm okay with anything they choose. If it pains me to see them with another that they love, then I'll take it all. Even if my ties with them are cut, I'll be happy as a long as they are."

As much as it had pained him, he asked for the other answer as well. "… And the truth."

"… No. As much as I see them have eyes for another, I'm not entirely 'okay' with it. I wish I had the courage to tell them, but I know it would only hurt them more if I do. And I'd rather suffer that fate." Bee responded earnestly, his blue eyes moving to the ground. "But you're different, Sam. I believe you still have that small spark of a chance to be with him. Unlike me…"

"But, how do you know they would refuse you?" As the blonde stood up from his position, the human found himself following but remained in his spot where the holoform was walking away from.

"I don't want to be pitied. And besides," Turning around with his hands in his pockets, he gave a sad smile. "I've been talking with them the past few minutes."

Sam stopped stone-still on his spot. He reviewed the words over in his head whilst the Seeker walked away. He looked long and hard at the walking figure as he thought back to the entire conversation. One line stood out that the Cybertronian had said. _'As much as I see them have eyes for another, I'm not 'okay' with it. I wish I had the courage to tell them, but I know it would only hurt them more if I do. And I'd rather suffer that fate.'_ His guilt could only be weighed down harder when he remembered the sad smile he gave before leaving.

* * *

Climbing the steps to the next level, Sam could only think about the last conversation held. It made him sick. But it had only highlighted the decision he had to make. Express his honest feelings for the Prime and risk ruining their relationship, or go with Bee who has already accepted him. Could he deny his heart, and risk hurting a dear friend? Or follow it and might consequently run himself into the ground?

He couldn't choose. More like, he hadn't that much of a choice. I mean, Optimus had already found his mate. He should be 'grand' about it. That meant Bee was a more suitable choice. But, the last thing the Camaro had said struck back. _'I don't want to be pitied.'_

"… -at's what Ratchet said?" A voice spoke from the top of the stair case. Sam paused his steps, looking up and recognising the voice.

"Yes. He says it will take time before we reconnect. I don't want to think about the second possibility." A second voice spoke. Sam didn't take even a second to recognise the voice. His heart tightening when he realised who the first voice belonged to.

"Orion… You have nothing to fear. Even if we cannot share a bond, I am happy as long as you are alive and well." Elita-1 said, hearing a few human-sized steps. _'Orion… Must be Optimus' real name. Of course he'd only share that with someone he loved…'_ The teen thought.

"And I the same, dear Elita."

* * *

"And I the same, dear Elita." The Prime replied, turning his head swiftly when hurried steps were heard running down the stairs beside them. Stepping away from his lover for a moment, he peaked his head down the level, seeing no one there. He couldn't say it, but he felt an underlying chill run down his mind. A chill that said he had taken a leap off a cliff.

"Orion, is something wrong?"

"… No. It's nothing." He said, turning back to the female holoform.

* * *

 ** _A few days later…_**

Watching the snow fall outside his window, Sam curled deeper into his blanket and pillow. He wondered when someone was going to come by his room today. It had been a total of five days since he's spoken with anyone outside his room, and he hoped it would stay that way. After hearing _that_ conversation, he didn't want to hear anymore. At least not for a while.

Twelve. Twelve times had someone come to his door and knocked, asking different questions. The times when they did open the door, they only saw the pitch-black room with the college student under his blankets. They thought better than to wake him up, but unknowingly he was awake each time. The thought of locking it or even barricading himself with a chair had crossed his mind, but it would arouse even more suspicion and decided against it.

Of course he got up to eat and shower, but those were the only reasons for him to step out his blanket. His pillow was damp with how much sweat he had worked every night along with the tears the rolled down. Don't forget to mention the dreams that have made their comebacks and had worn away at his appearance. He didn't even want to look in the mirror. Especially when he knew he'll see something he wouldn't want to.

It was 12 o'clock by the time he woke up, his head aching, throat dry, eyes stinging and skin pale. The first sight he saw was the snow outside the window, reminding him that Christmas was coming up and his parents were visiting soon. Thinking that he could sleep the entire season away, he snuggled deeper into the blanket.

Heavy footsteps woke him up as he jolted awake, staring at the still closed door. There was knocking, then silence. His heart twisted among himself as he distinguished the knock given. It was Optimus. Always four times, stern and quick. His breathing heavy when the knock came again. This time, followed by his voice. "Sam? Are you alright in there? No one has spoken to you in days. They've all grown worried. _I've_ grown worried."

 _'_ _Liar.'_ He wanted to say, but bit his tongue, levelling his head back onto the pillow. More knocks came. Squeezing his eyes shut, he wished it to end soon. And it did, the knocks stopped and then there was serene silence. Optimus spoke again, breaking the trance. "I'm coming in."

Out of reflex, Sam shouted. "Don't."

A centimetre from the handle, Optimus backed off and stared at the door. "Sam? Why didn't you say something?"

…

"Sam, is there something wrong?"

"… No. Just… _busy_... Tell the others I'm fine." He instructed.

Silence. Then a hum abided the instructions before the Prime left without a word, his footsteps growing further and further. Finally, peace had returned to his room. But because the leader was about to step in his room, it had rather forced him out of bed and got him up on both legs. A sigh yawn left his mouth before scratching the back of his head.

Since he was up, he might as well wash up. Walking to the bathroom, he stared into the mirror and wasn't the slightest bit shocked from what he saw. Tussled hair, red eyes, black rings under them and pale skin. He was one hell of a definition for sick. Pushing it aside, he turned to the tap and doused his face with water. If his parents were coming, they aren't coming to smother him.

* * *

This was more troublesome than he had first thought. When he thought about it, if anyone he knew had caught sight of him, they'd more than likely drag him to Ratchet or go off on a rant about how he cooped up himself inside his room. And with the time he's spent inside the base, a few soldiers and friends of Epps and Lennox had managed to remember his face and name. The only luck he has to note was that the Autobots were outside, witnessing the change in weather.

Speaking about Autobots, the three faces he wanted to avoid right now were of the following he last saw. Elita. Bee. And Optimus. Definite faces he did not want to meet right. Which made them priority number one to turn the other way if he even catches the sound of their voices. He's had some close calls for the past hour, feeling as if every turn he took, he'd run into either three.

Then he came at a standstill. One end of the corridor had Bee speaking with Jolt while on the other end was Ironhide walking with Will and Epps. They were caving him into a corner as Sam looked to both sides, his hoody now drawn back. Turning behind him, he found there was a door and made quick use of it. Literally pushing his body in, closing it with a slam when he was through.

Turning around, he observed the room. A weapons and armour storage. On the walls were hanged bullet-proof vest while sets of guns were placed below on a table, each having their ammo packs right beside them. The tables seemed to hold more than enough other attachments for the weapons.

Sam couldn't observe for long as he didn't know much about them. Instead, he'd pressed his ear up against the door, hearing the weapons specialist argue with the human captain over something. As they drew louder, he pushed his back on the wall beside the door, hearing their voices reach a maximum before moving further away. Not long, he had heard Bee and Jolt running, followed by the sounds of a chasing Sideswipe as their voices disappeared as well.

Not realising he was holding in his breath, he released it in a sigh. Counting another minute of silence, he pulled the door open, checking both ends of the corridors before slipping out. With his hands back in his pockets along with his hoody drawn over, he began his 'great escape'.

That 'great escape' hadn't been so great when a hand quickly caught his wrist. Spinning around, he was met with stern blue eyes. First word that came to mind was the exact word he was seeing in his situation. _Shit_.

"Sam."

Turning his head away, he pulled his body back and stood still. "Optimus."

"You've been hiding. Why?"

"… No reason."

"Then why have you been avoiding us?" He questioned.

"I haven't." Sam lied.

"Sam. I've been following you since you've stepped out of your room. Every time you'd see someone, you'd draw up you hood and walk away. Why?" Optimus continued.

"…"

"Are you sick?" A moment passed before the teen shook his head. "Injured?" Another shake. "Threatened?" Another shake. "Then please tell me Samuel."

"…"

"Sam. If someone has hurt you in either way, of course we'd do anything to help. Whether you're left on your own or in need of a simple talk, then we'd race to your side. Even if we had rebuilt Cybertron, not one of us would second doubt ourselves if you called. But that is on the matter that you tell us what has been troubling you… Please Sam, we care about you. **I** care about you."

The last sentence sent a strike to the teen's heart. A part of him want to laugh at the lie. Another wanted to break down. But he shoved it away as he twisted his arm out of the Prime's grasp. A mutter escaped his mouth which was so quiet that even the leader couldn't pick it up.

"I'm sorry?" Optimus asked.

"… Save that for Elita." After that, the human began walking away. Snapping out of his small shock, Optimus sped after his friend and circled around in front of him, blocking the Witwicky's path. His fists were out on the sides as they trembled only slightly.

"Sam, what did you mean by that?" When the teen refused to give an answer, trying to step to the side, the Prime followed. Another step, he followed. "Sam." He called, losing what little he had of emotions.

"It means exactly what it is! You say you 'care', when you know that isn't true!"

"Sam, I do ca-"

The teen had quickly cut in, throwing his head up with his hoody uncovering him. "Shut up! Don't lie to me! I have had just about enough from everyone pitying me! Why does everyone smother me when I have done nothing to deserve it? And now you're here, probably because someone had asked you to. Otherwise, you'd be off along with Elita once again, finishing all the things you two missed in the last millennia."

Somewhat shell-shocked from the teen's look, it had taken a second for him to process the words that left his mouth. "She has nothing to do with this Sam."

"Oh doesn't she? Tell me, who would you run to first, in a life and death situation?" The human questioned. Thrown aback by the sudden spotlight, he faltered.

"T-That is an unfair question. You two are both dear to me and I could never choose between friends and loved ones."

"Answer it Optimus! Who?" Sam pressed, on the verge of tears.

"I will not. I will never allow that to happen." Even he knew that he was lying to himself. In the past, there have been times which cases like that have happened. And almost every time, someone was lost during the situation. That's why he can't answer it. He could never fully trust himself to keep the two from such an event.

"And that is because you already know the answer!"

"Don't make such assumptions!"

"Are they assumptions? Or are they the truth you can't accept?"

As his spark flickered with internal pain, he calmed himself. "Sam. This discussion is over. I will not allow words to be placed in my mouth."

"Good. Because I'm _done_. I'm done being the one who is watched over by everyone. I'm cutting my ties  entirely with you guys." Another flicker of pain went through the Prime while the teen moved past him. "I hope you're happy with Elita, Optimus Prime."

As Optimus finally snapped away from his pain, he called out to the human. "Sam, wait!" But it was already too late. With his hoody drawn up, Sam didn't look back to the holoform. And as his steps distanced them both further and farther away from each other, the leader had never thought his name and title could never sound more like an insult than ever before.


	5. Deadlock

_**Things are about to get interesting.**_

* * *

"Optimus!" The blonde had burst in the door to the Prime's office, snapping the leader's attention up.

"What is it Bumblebee?" He questioned. It was either that the yellow Camaro had noticed the tone in his voice and had decided to ignore it for now or he couldn't tell.

"Do you know that Sam's gone?!" When the leader heard of this, his eyes flew up for a second before lowering back to the data-pads he was using before the sudden intrusion.

"Oh…"

"Oh?" Walking up to his superior's table, he slammed both hands on it, shaking the furniture which didn't even surprise the Prime. "Aren't you going to do something?"

"Samuel has decided to cut his ties with us and I will respect it to the best of my abilities." Optimus spoke, his monotonic voice clear enough for any human or Cybertronian to notice as he flicked through the report files.

"And you're just going to let him?"

The question pained him. "There is nothing I can do."

"Yes there is! You could talk to him." Bee argued.

"… There is nothing left to I can do." The blonde had to question the short pause before the answer. It clicked together when the pieces were placed in. Monotonic voice. Lack of opinion. The sad look in the man's eyes. And how'd he know that Sam had cut their ties? Unless…

"… You knew." The silence only answered the non-existing question. With an angered mind, his hand came over to the Prime's shirt as he pulled the man up to stand along with him. "You knew and you just let it happen!"

"Bumblebee. Let. **Go**." The leader ordered.

"No! You are going to tell me right here and now why you didn't try." The Cybertronian was ticked with the act of insubordination. But that didn't matter right now.

"I've done everything I could. If it is Sam's wishes to leave, then we will honour it with pr-"

"Don't you even dare use the word 'pride' and 'dignity' when you didn't do anything."

"But I had and have. Do we not owe Sam this wish of his after he saved our lives?"

"Yes we do. But we need to know why as well. Or do you not care that he's one of us?" When the Prime had nothing left to say, he casted down his eyes. A growl of frustration rose from the blonde before his hand finally released the grip as he turned on his feet and headed for the door. "You may have given up on him, but I won't. And I'll never." With that, the scout left the door, slamming behind himself.

Optimus did nothing but think about Bee's last few words. He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist onto the table. Of course he wanted to go after his human friend. How he wished he could. But right now, he believed he wasn't in the position to be the first to go after him. After all, he very well may have been the reason the teen had left. With that thought, he could only trust in the scout and question why the Witwicky had left.

* * *

With his earphones popped in, Sam had quietly napped in the passenger seat, resting his head on the window. It wasn't until one of his earphones were pulled out that he had snapped up to glare at the driver. "What?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to ask why you wanted me to drive you home?" Will questioned as he had continued to do so with both eyes on the road. Even though it wasn't really needed, basing on which car it was, he still loved to do it by the book than allow an alien to.

"I told you, I'll tell you when we get there." Sam groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"No, I got that. I meant why you want **me** to drive you. You could've asked Bee or Optimus to do so." Will elaborated.

"I'm curious about that too, Samuel." Ironhide had spoken through his radio.

"They… were busy." He lied.

It was then that the car came to a screeching halt, making both humans fly up on their seats before landing back down with a groan of pain. The first to recollect was Will as he looked to the radio and had hit a fist to it. "Oi! I told you to let _me_ drive. What was that for?"

"Sorry. But a comm from Bee had told me to stop and turn back." Silently, Sam cursed, knowing that the guardian had already heard. While the two humans stepped out of the vehicle, shivering a little from the cold. They stepped back and allowed the Cybertronian to transform as the yellow Camaro had come in a flash of dust, transforming the last few steps before kneeling down to his friend.

"S-Sam… Don't…" He said through the radio, the teen looking away with hurt while the soldier and weapons specialist were generally confused.

"You know I can't stay Bee."

"No… I-I don't."

Will decided to step in here. "Okay, either of you two going to explain why we stopped in the middle of literally nowhere."

Sam turned away as Bee answered. "Your l-leaving me…" He replayed on his speakers, pointing towards the college student. It took a moment for the two bystanders to understand the message, their attentions turning to the teen.

"You're leaving us?" The Captain asked, Sam wincing when he failed to answer. A barrage of questions flew over the Witwicky's head while he lowered it in guilt from hiding it. In a matter of moments, Bee had interrupted the loud arguments when he shot his cannon towards the sky. Heads turned to face the mechling.

Using his own voice this time, which surprised everyone, he asked calmly, "Hide, Captain Lennox, can you leave us alone for a moment?"

Much to their pleasure, the two nodded before the black mech had transformed and had been off on his way with the soldier inside him. The two believed whatever happens after, Bee can take care of the teen. Once they disappeared off of the scout's radar, Bee transformed back into his car form, opening a door for Sam to climb in. Without much thought, he climbed in with the door closing and locking itself.

Inside the car was an already materialised holoform, looking at the teen with betrayed eyes. The two didn't say anything for the first minute before Bee stricken the conversation. "Sam. Why didn't you tell anyone you were leaving?"

"… I thought it'd be easier if I just disappeared from you guys than having to say goodbye to everyone."

"That brings me to my next question. Why are you leaving?"

"… I just couldn't take it, Bee." The blonde waited for him to elaborate. It took a breath before he did. "Every night. Every night I've seen _him_ die in front of my eyes. He'd ask me 'why'. Just that, 'why'. One moment I'm sitting before his dead body, the next I'm jolting awake, unable to sleep for the rest of the night."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"How could I? You all got enough worries to think about. And I didn't need any of you to have the added weight of me." Bee stay quiet before responding.

"… Have you ever told anyone about this?" A shake of his head confirmed it. "Then how do you know we'd be bothered?" The teen looked up to the blue eyes with his hazel ones. "Sam, as far as I know, you are family to us. All of us. Even if Ratchet, Jolt or Sideswipe doesn't say so, they do believe that. And we won't be bothered just because you need comfort."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. Sam, before I told you I had feelings for you, yes?" Hazel eyes were filled with guilt as he looked away again. He bobbed his head. "Did you actually tell Optimus that?" Sam responded it with a nervous shake of his head. "Then tell him."

"Tell him what exactly?"

" **Everything**. Your nightmares, your feelings, this talk. Tell him whatever you need. Just do it so he gets the message." Bee encouraged. Taking a massive u-turn, the car drove back to the base slower than usual for the teen to think. And thought the young adult did.

* * *

The moment the two had returned, Sam was greeted by almost everyone he knew. Most hearing the news from Ironhide and Will while others got the story from the Prime. Which was one of the few that had decided to hide his presence. The others included of Elita and her crew, Ratchet and Will. Ironhide saying that he had another meeting to get to.

After calming everyone down, Sam was rushed to the med bay without a second thought from the yellow Cybertronian. When arriving at the door to the room, he was quickly stopped by a hand. The two stared at the medic as if waiting for an explanation. But what came sounded more like an order. "Apology?"

The two shared a look before Sam stepped forward with a flushed and nervous state. "…S-sorry, Ratchet…" A cough told him to continue. "I'm sorry that I had tried to leave without telling you." Another cough. "And I'm sorry for not telling you…?" A hand dropped onto Sam's shoulder before Bee spoke.

"I believe that's enough Sam has to apologise for, Ratchet."

"One last thing." Moving a step closer, he dropped the bottom of his fist onto the human's head, making the teen flinch. "What were you thinking?!" A hand grabbed his wrist before he was pulled into the medical room and pushed onto a bed while the medic continued to fire his curses and shouts. Even for Bee, he had to wince at what were said. And through all of it, Sam kept chuckling and apologising.

Through the small laughters, the human had glanced over to the blonde, thinking back to the last few minutes of the car ride.

* * *

 _"_ _Bee… Why are you so insistent of pushing me towards him?" Sam asked, while the holoform kept an emotionless face._

 _"…_ _It's like I said before, even if it pains me to see you with him, I'd do it because you'd be happy." A smile stretched Sam's lips, making the holoform hold the same expression._

 _As Sam leaned over and pressed a friendly kiss on the blonde's cheek, he whispered quietly before leaning back on his seat. "Thank you."_

 _"…_ _You're welcome, Sam."_

 _Nervously, as the two pulled up into the drive way, Sam began to request something of the scout. "Hey Bee, can you give me a few days before I talk to 'him' again? At least until New Years?"_

 _The blonde had worried face, but accepted the terms. "Alright. But you know you should tell him sooner, or you might lose your chance."_

 _A chuckle came from the human. "God, you sound like a terrible wing-man at a club."_

* * *

Of course the kiss had meant nothing, but it had done the job of lifting the tension. It wasn't long before the medic had begun pulling out almost every medical equipment he had, poking and probing every limb on his body. Sam did his best not to say anything for the moment, knowing that the Cybertronian doctor would only worry anymore, which eventually will lead to more poking and probing.

Then the questions came. First it was the usual questions any doctor would've asked. 'What've you been eating?', 'How long have you slept?', and 'Do you feel any pain?'. Those sorts before it had begun to dig even deeper when Sam had answer them. First off was when he had begun to lose weight. He had tried to explain it with as little detail as he could, leaving out what he heard and Bee's little confession.

Then the doctor began asking reason for his lack of sleep. This time, the human had answered truthfully and had explained the events that have happened. Not all, but the ones that he knew he could say without actually remembering the image too vividly. He knew that even if he did say it or not, it wouldn't give out any full details.

The last question was cruel to answer. Physically, he felt fine and dandy. Emotionally, he was hurt and sensitive to anything regarding the Prime. He didn't know how he should feel or what he should say to the medic. For now, he answered it as if it was a physical question, saying that there was no pain but a slight overwhelming fatigue every now and often. Ratchet stared him down before accepting it, typing down notes on the data-pad.

Finishing the last word, he placed the data-pad down before he circling around the med bay, searching the cupboards before he had pulled out two different packets of medicine. Returning back to Sam, he handed the young adult the medicine packets.

"Take the blue one after every meal and the white one once each night. Don't try to take another if you missed one, but just continue on as so. The white one should keep you asleep while the blue one will make sure you're absorbing the nutrients from the food you're eating. I'll set you up with a training routine with Captain Lennox and three sets of meal with him every day until the end of the human month. By then, you will have regained any lost amount of energy you had lost and be fighting fit. Any pains or reoccurring symptoms, you come back to me **. Immediately**. Understood?"

Sam nodded before the medic had relieved a sigh of relief. Raising a hand, he ruffled the Witwicky's hair. "Please don't leave us." The human blushed before bobbing his head.

* * *

After the health check-up, the three had moved to the rec room, finding everyone before, this time with Lennox, taking each their own seat. Bee and Sam found a spot with the already lit fire place to their backs while Ratchet advanced to the human captain before informing him of the things he had prescribed to Sam. Obviously, the man had understood what he had to do.

Meanwhile, Sam had enjoyed the light conversation between him, Sideswipe and Jolt.

Everything about the former was sharp. From his blue eyes, down to the sharp black shoes. His hair dyed grey and spiked while he looked as young as the yellow Camaro. He wore a white button-up shirt with a loose black tie around his neck. Under that were was a grey singlet and black pants to follow. Jolt, however, was neat. His blue hair matching his eyes while he looked as old to be classified as a young adult. His blue, long-sleeved v-neck complimented his slim figure as well as the darker jeans and black sneakers. And on his head was a black cap reading in light blue on it 'Lighten up!'.

"Listen to this, just this morning when we were racing, this glitch-head here managed to take down three trucks in one slide." Jolt had recounted while pointing towards Sideswipe, giving a howl of laughter before being knocked on the backside of his head by said mech.

"And who are you to talk? You burnt down the building right after."

" _Accidentally_. You looked like you were against another 'Con." He joked, this time dodging the playful attack. The room turned when they heard the laughter of the teen. It was an innocent laugh, yet it was infectious, bringing everyone to either chuckling, laughing or smiling silently.

When the laughter died down, the room was a bustling party. But as Sam looked around, he noticed the one person missing from this family. _Optimus._

* * *

Optimus felt his spark dull even more. He's been holding the feeling of punching a wall back for quite some time and he felt he was close to losing it. Who couldn't feel themselves go crazy when they've had Galloway shouting complaints the entire morning. Then the blast human decided to drop a mound of paperwork onto his table, half of them barely even his. And with heat filling his processor, he was not in the mood of any other surprises after Bee.

The door to the office opened quite suddenly, Optimus looking up while he prepared for anything. When he saw that it was his femme partner, he calmed himself before continuing his paper.

"Orion, you've been stuck in here all day. I think it's about time you've given yourself a much deserved break." Elita said as she strolled up to the table.

"Forgive me. But I cannot turn away from the work. The more I let off, the more it piles up." The Prime reasoned, not even glancing up when she had rounded the table beside his chair.

"Why do you trial through the humans' customs? They are of no threat to us."

"No. But if we are to keep peace between them and us, as well as stay on this planet, then we'll have to abide their rules."

"And if their rules cost the lives of ours?" She questioned.

"… That won't happen. We have our own rules that they follow as well." Optimus stated, placing down his pen before looking up. He had general sense of unease as he felt the topic of discussion was taking a nasty turn.

"Do they know that? I heard what had happened to your second-in-command. He-"

"He offlined on the battlefield against Megatron. The humans have done nothing to have cause it." He interjected, growing a rather hostile tone in his voice.

"And more will follow if we do not leave." Elita reached her hands onto the leader's shoulders as she leaned closer. "Please, Orion." Looking into his lover's eyes, a part of him wanted to agree with her. But a much stronger part of him showed an image of Samuel Witwicky. His smile. And his death.

Reaching hands up to cuff the femme's wrists, he pulled her hands off before stating firmly. "No. We will not let Megatron take this planet like that of many others. If you wish to leave with your team, then do so. But the rest of us have chosen to side with humanity."

When he had finally released his hold, he had sent his message loud and clear. Elita gasped as she noticed the eyes he held. She'd seen him bore those eyes against betraying allies, but to think that he'd direct the very same look towards her. She was hurt. Turning away her holoform, she made her way out of the room, cursing under her breath. She cursed her beloved for growing attached to such a species. Cursed the human that the leader would always bring up whenever they talked. And when she had grudge, she held onto it hard.

* * *

 ** _A week later…_**

It had been a week since the teen had decided to stay and a week since he's decided talk with the Prime. And yet every time he came to the door of the office, he would stare at it for a full ten minutes until either someone had spotted him or he had turned away himself. And from the talks the others had with the leader, it seemed he was doing everything he could to distance himself.

From what was said by the others, the leader had managed to lock himself in his office with a couple dozen piles of paperwork to keep himself busy. This meant neither of the two were ready to face each other, much less talk. It was hard enough when he begun to regret walking away from the door, but with the blonde's insistent talk and persuasion was only going to go so far.

Speaking about the yellow Camaro, the two had returned to their usual routine as a mixture of friends and brothers. Though there were times when Bee was caught eyeing him up and had shot flirty remarks to the young adult, he began to wonder how no one else had noticed. Then he looked past it and thought of them as nothing but conversational ease.

"Sweetie, it's time to get up now…" A voice spoke into the young adult's ear as he tussled into his blanket.

"Urgh… Five… more… minutes…" He groaned.

"I'm sorry, but did you ask for the sun to shine?" The voice spoke before harsh light hit the teen's eyes and he winced harder.

Peeking out of his blanket-made night, he watched as the window curtains were pulled up, allowing most of the sun to shine into the room. Looking over to the other side of his bed, he was getting a foot ready to kick the person in the stomach for one, breaking into his room, and two, for bringing the damn sun into the room. When he noticed who it was, it was then that Sam had bolted up right on his bed.

"Mum?!" He questioned with a semi-dazed look.

"Hello sweetie. Now get out of bed, breakfast is just about ready." The female Witwicky had ordered, ripping the blanket away from him which brought a wave of cold air to hit his arms and legs. He shivered for a moment before following said orders. Even at home, he was taught, mostly by his dad, to always obey his mother. Without question, of course. There were a few exceptions to this, but every time he had his butt-handed to him with his mother's words.

Sam quickly washed up and changed before entering the kitchen, where his dad had looked at him with a beaming smile from the table. Behind him was his mother who worked away on bacon and eggs. Ron had got up on his seat and stepped aside. "Sammy, com'ere!" The older Witwicky had greeted as his arms came around the college student, which he gladly returned before settling onto the table.

"So what are you guys doing here? Christmas Eve isn't until next week." Sam inquired, somewhat afraid for the answer.

"Thought we'd surprise you a few days early." Ron briefed, glancing back and forth between his wife and son before leaning in with a hand covering his mouth. Sam got the idea and leant in as well. "Your mother held a bat to bed until I said yes."

"I heard that." Judy stated, drawing doom onto the father Witwicky. A chuckle escaped Sam's mouth before Ron continued.

"Besides, we thought we'd decorated the place a little early to fit the 'Witwicky' tradition." The oldest Witwicky added.

"And you guys arrived when?"

"Just last night, told the handsome Captain to keep it quiet." Judy explained, making both father and son groan in embarrassment.

"Mum…"

"Honey…" The males said at the same time.

"Oh hush! Anyways, breakfast is served!" The female Witwicky, turned around with the pan and plate before she tipped the contents out onto said plate. On top of a sunny-side up egg, three pieces of bacon sizzled while his mouth had watered from just the smell. Oh how he missed the times like these.

* * *

"For the last time Ironhide, no!" Optimus roared.

He glared at his two Cybertronian friends as they stood inside the office, their heavy gazes on the Prime. The moment they entered, he knew it wasn't a good sign. But at this point, it was just outrageous. Apparently, they had wanted him to leave the room for some time to 'himself'. He didn't believe it. Clearly when the young Witwicky was brought up into the topic of discussion. For all two out of three of them, it getting rather childish how the Prime was acting. They all wanted the good of both their leader and friend, but if they were going to be stubborn about it, then they'd have to step in to cause even more of a stir.

"You can't just keep yourself in here until the boy decides to leave." The weapons specialist argued, snatching away the paperwork the Prime was in the middle of. "Now stop acting like such a sparkling and get out there."

He grumbled in his teeth before pushing his back to the chair. "What difference would it make? Sam clearly doesn't want to speak with me."

"Then you obviously have to take the initiative." He retorted.

"I have to agree with Hide on this one. Avoiding the problem is just going to make matters worse." Ratchet added, earning himself a glare from the leader in which he gladly returned. A devious idea came up in the medic's mind before he spoke again. "How about this, you won't need to talk to Sam. But you'll step out of this office and take some time off. How about it?" He offered, Ironhide and Optimus giving him an estranged look.

.: _What are you doing? The entire idea is to_ _get_ _him to talk to Samuel._ :. Ironhide had communicated through the network.

.: _Keep your audio quiet and follow along. By the end of today, they_ _ **will**_ _be talking. I'll fill you in on the details after we get him to agree._ :.

.: … _Fine_. :.

Turning back to the Prime, the weapons specialist seconded the idea. "It's better than being cramped into such a tight space till the new human year."

Optimus looked at the two with a suspicious glint in his eyes. He groaned before reaching a hand out to the paper that the weapons specialist had snatched away. When his fingers had slightly grazed the paper, the other hand holding the paper retracted it further from his reach. Looking up to meet his oldest friend's eyes, he glared once more. "Do we have a deal?"

Another groan rose from the Prime's throat. He knew that if he didn't agree now, they'd either return later for the same reason or they'd drag him out by the arms. With caution, he nodded his head as once again tried to take the paper back. And again, the paper was pulled away. A cough from the two signalled what they wanted.

"Alright! If it will keep you two happy, then I'll do it." He announced.

"Great! You can start now." The two spoke in unison, Ironhide dropping the paper and followed Ratchet around the table. Caught up in the surprise, the Prime had barely enough time to understand that he was being pulled out of the room by the pits of his arms. It didn't hit him until he was out of the room that he was dragged out.

Turning around to his Autobot allies, he heaved a breath before beginning his quick walk around the entirety of the base.

When the leader was finally out of sight, the two shared a glance. "Now what?" The soldier asked.

In which the medic replied with his thought out plan. The mech listened in as his face was shifting through the explanation. From confusion, to anxious, then baffled, and finally proud at what Ratchet had come up with in such a short amount of time. He congratulated the medic with a slap on the back, which was returned with a wrench to his head.

* * *

 _'_ _Dammit Sam! You just had to offer them a tour of the place. Good job.'_ He screamed at himself internally, knowing that only little could be done. He looked on ahead of the path where his parents continued to observe the places that they passed. Most, they seemed fine and dandy with, but there were some which had put the adults off. Especially the room that was given _specifically_ for the twins to fight. They had caught a glimpse before they were hurried off before the Skids and Mudflap could reach for their weapons. Another one they had passed were the training rooms for the soldiers, revealing a few half-naked men and a shooting range. Hint, one out of those had his mother making more dirty comments, making the two male Witwicky's want to carve a hole and die in it.

But he knew the worst was yet to come when a question had been asked by his father. "So when do we get to meet the one you'd travelled all the way to Egypt to save? Optimus, was it?"

The poor teen had turned a pale white when the name was mentioned. The fact that the two weren't on a 'talking' basis right now would worry them, but if they found out what had exactly transpired between them, things would go messy as a metal bat would be pulled out somewhere along the way.

So, instead of giving a straight answer, he went for a more _subtle_ approach. "Well… I'm sure he must be pretty busy right around now, so you'll have to wait a while. F-From what I've heard, it could be a lo-"

"Sam!" A voice called out from behind the family, making the young adult's heart jump when he spun. Luckily, fate had spared him the sight of Optimus and had replaced him with the weapons specialist. As the holoform approached the family, Sam calmed his heart with a hand over his chest.

"Uh, hey Hide. I don't think you properly met my parents yet." Gesturing to the two folk who stood out like a sore thumb on the base. "Mum, Dad, this is Ironhide, the team's weapons specialist. Ironhide, my mother and father."

Taking a moment Ironhide had stopped whatever he was about to say to greet the two. He didn't say much before he returned his gaze back to the college student. "Sam, Bee's in the med bay." It took a moment for the words to process before his mind went alert on the news.

"What?! Is he okay?"

"He was ambushed by a 'Con on his patrol." Ironhide informed. "I think you should go see him."

"Alright." Sam turned back to his parents who were giving him a smile.

"Go. Your friend needs you more than us. We can find our way around." Judy assured.

"If you didn't, we'd have to say that you aren't a Witwicky." Ron joked, bringing a smile to his own face as well. Giving a small nod and 'thank you' both him and Ironhide sped off to the hospital room.

* * *

It was only a short five minutes before they reached it, stopping at the door when Sam noticed who was running his way from the other corridor. Optimus. All three stopped at the door, catching their breaths and staring in horror of who was opposite to the other. Optimus stared at his human friend, confirming it was the Witwicky when they had locked eyes. If he knew that Sam was coming, he would've waited outside the door of the room until the teen was done inside. But since the weapons specialist hadn't mentioned it in his comm.

Disregarding that the two had finally seen eye to eye since a few days ago, he turned to the door, opening it as he was ready for the sight of his injured family. But there was no one. Not a single Cybertronian within the room. Not even the medic himself. Sam had peeked over his shoulder to find the same thing. They were shocked and confused on why there was no one inside.

Before anything could be said and/or done, a pair of hands had pushed behind the human, causing a domino effect with the leader in front of him. The two collapsed on the floor with a loud thud as Sam winced and Optimus groaned in pain. Their eyes opened when a slam behind them was heard. Rolling off of the Prime, the two looked up and found the door was shut, Ironhide on the other side.

Optimus pushed off onto his feet before gripping the handles of the frame, pulling hard against it. He then looked through the window of the doors, finding both Ironhide and the magically appearing Ratchet with dark smirks on their expressions. Then it clicked like a lightbulb, the Prime's wrath flaring when he got the image.

"Ironhide! Ratchet! Open the door this instant!" He ordered. Ironhide pretended not to hear and Ratchet began to shout through the window as well.

"It seems the door has deadlocked itself for an hour. Not even I can unlock it if it does." The medic chuckled. The leader growled as he knew it was true. The deadlock was implemented by special technology of the humans that even Cybertronians couldn't figure out. The password, which they needed, changes every minute with an entirely random algorithm. He growled again when he questioned on how he could've been tricked so easily.

Turning when he heard Sam get up, he went over to the human's side to steady him. Looking back to the door, he found that the two were gone and the door was still locked. He cursed quietly.


	6. Hands

Sam threw his head against the wall, tired of waiting. Standing patiently at the door opposite to him was the Prime, his arms crossed and his finger continuously tapping. He began to wonder how long they've been kept in the room. Judging by what the medic had said and comparing it to the clock on the wall, they still had a long forty minutes to go. And it didn't help that the two were getting anxious around each other the longer they had to wait.

It was like this; Sam wants Optimus to strike the conversation, while Optimus waited for Sam to. Of course they had tried during the first twenty minutes, but that had ended with nothing leaving their mouth. The young adult stared at the holoform's back, noticing how it was more tensed than ever before. This was a clear indication that the leader was uncomfortable. But that had also done the job of defining his muscles through the jacket.

The human's hazel brown eyes traced the lines of the jacket, noticing how they were stretched by the muscles under it and had suited the man quite well. And when his eyes travelled lower, his mind finally came back and he had noticed that he had been staring for the last five minutes. His blush now covered his cheeks while he worked with whatever he had in his memory.

Optimus fidgeted slightly. Having felt the intensified glare on his back for the last few minutes, he could not say he was completely at ease. When he casted a look to the corner of his eye, he was grateful that the teen had finally looked away. A small release of breath went through him, a hand reaching up to comb his hair back even further. In his mind, he had a mixed feeling of hate and understanding on why his oldest friends would do this, but unfortunately it wasn't turning out how they expected. Yes, they got the two to be in a room together, but now what? One can't just expect them to start talking.

Time ticked slowly as Optimus released the stance he's been holding for the last twenty minutes, catching the human off guard when a sigh of relief escaped. For whatever reason at that time, either if it was out of boredom or for the sake of building the trust they (once) had, he talked.

"… I apologise, Samuel. It seems you've been dragged into another one of my problems."

Sam raised an eyebrow. With every thought process he could muster, the first word that got out defined what he thought. "What?" This time, the Prime had turned to meet the teen's eyes, a look of hurt in his,

"As I said, I'm sorry for everything we- _I've_ put you through. Please forgive me." Optimus dropped his eyes and lowered his head a few centimetres. Something he read to show respect in human cultures. Not much different when kneeling to superior on Cybertron.

There was audible silence. Then Sam spoke. "Optimus, you know you have nothing to blame for, right?"

The Cybertronian lifted his eyes and cocked his head to the side. "What?"

As Sam stood up, he turned his head away, an embarrassed blush colouring his cheeks before speaking appropriately. "… I had to admit, I was wrong 'that' day. It was wrong of me to say what I had. Bringing out something that didn't relate to what we… _talked_ about that day. And it was also wrong of me to take it out all on you… I'm sorry…"

…

…

After a while, Optimus' head lifted up to the sound of something he did not expect in such a situation. _Laughter_. He watched as the teen sat himself on the bed of the room, a hand reaching over his eyes. The holoform feared for a moment that his human friend had lost himself to insanity. When the Prime had taken a step forward to the bed, the young adult quickly read his mind and stopped him with a hand.

Stifling his laughs, he quieted down before talking. "Sorry. Just had the strangest sense of déjà vu. You know what I mean?"

The Cybertronian took a moment to process the words before it clicked. The situation they were in had been repeated before. In fact, it was merely a fortnight ago that they had been saying almost the same thing as today. When Sam had figured it out, he must've found it humorous. And now that Optimus had connected the dots, he couldn't help the smile that crept up his lips.

Humming in approval, he shook his head as well. "Indeed. I get that feeling as well."

"Then should we continue how we left off last time?"

"We could. I'd very much like it if Ironhide bursts through the door." The Prime admitted, turning to said entrance. "It'd give us a way out." Sam tilted his body so he saw past the holoform.

"Yeah… Do you know why they locked us in here in the first place?" Sam questioned, lying as he already knew the answer to why they had. He just wanted to know if the Prime had known. The question only made the Autobot stiffen on the spot as he turned back to the teen with an uncertain smile.

"N-Not a clue…"

Sam wasn't convinced. Especially when Optimus had quickly turned back. The leader could feel the pair of eyes on his back. The human turned away a second after, looking at the clock once again. Twenty minutes. A thought had hit the teen as he turned again to the Autobot.

"Hey, Opti-"

" **Orion**."

Sam blinked when his sentence was cut off. Then Optimus repeated himself. "Orion Pax. That was my designation before I was deemed a Prime. I-I'd rather you'd refer me to as such." Optimus said, his spark's engine revving while his holoform grew hot. The human was the closest friend he'd ever had in a long time. It'd be rude of the Cybertronian to not introduce his birth name.

The young adult went wide-eyed, thanking the gods that the Prime was looking away from his red-stained face. Nervously, he tried again. " _O-Orion_ , you said once before that you'd like to meet my parents."

"… Yes…?"

"W-Well, they've just arrived y-yesterday night and well, th-they wanted to meet you today. I mean, y-you don't have to, but-"

" **Sam** ," He peeked up at the sound of his name, his heart skipping a beat when those brilliant blue eyes pierced through him. His smile radiating as bright as star. Was it just him, or was it getting hot in here? "I'd gladly meet with them."

"C-Cool. I guess I can introduce you guys after we're out."

His smile stretched a millimetre wider. "Of course. I, as well, would like to meet your Creators." Another step was taken while Sam looked back up. His smile dropping when a sudden image splashed across his sight.

 _"_ _Why… Sam…"_

Oh god, why now. Of all the times to get a relapse. He whipped his head away a moment, too quick as the Prime had easily noticed and was approaching his side. The human's breathing began to quicken while his sweat pores began to let loose the waterworks. He could've sworn that he had heard Optimus calling his name if not for the loud drumming of his heart in his ears. Was it his heart? Or was it his head that was providing a minor migraine at the moment. Maybe he was just thinking too hard and its all a hallucination?He couldn't tell.

His eyes flicked open, he didn't even realise, they were close, when a pair of arms pulled him into something warm and firm. Slowly, the drumming lowered only enough for one voice to reach his brain. "Sam, everything's alright. _You're_ alright."

The teen turned his head, finally figuring out what he was leaning on when something nuzzled his hair. It was Optimus. Alive and well. From the beat of his heart- or spark he guessed- to the soft circles he drew on the young adult's back. Slowly, his own arms curled around the Prime, clutching desperately at the leather jacket while his head buried into the man's chest.

After a minute, the Prime decided to ask. "Sam… Are you alright?" Quiet, then a nod. "Would you like to talk about it?" No reply. "Sam, it's better if I knew what upsets you to help. Please." The holoform pleaded, separating only an inch or two to look the teen in the eyes. Sam wanted to look away, but he knew if he did, it'd only provide more trouble. So he whispered. Not silently, but just enough for the bot to hear everything about the nightmares.

After the review, he was pulled into another tight embrace, a hum singing to him. He thought that the leader would view him as weak and pathetic, but everything in the tune the Prime had made was only of comfort and respect, something else as well. Bravery? Soon, the song ended, but they remained still.

The two stayed in the position for what seemed like eternity. It wasn't until the sound of an unlocking door that had released the two from their silence and turned their eyes towards the door. Much to their pleasure, the medic and weapons specialist had reappeared. Though when they stepped in, they froze like a pair of deer in headlights, noticing how they had just interrupted yet another moment.

Sure, their plan was to get them inside. But they didn't expect things to get intimate in only an hour. At least, intimate in Cybertronian terms. When Optimus looked at their gaze, he brought his eyes to the position him and the human were in, getting the picture as he stood up, he shook his head and waved his hand. It took a minute to explain what had happened, Ratchet already knowing the part of nightmares, and relieving them of any wrong implications. Ironhide went ballistic when he wasn't informed about the nightmares as well as Optimus when the medic had refused to tell his Prime. Ratchet countered with the fact that it was _his_ patient and that they deserved they right of privacy. That had managed to shut the two up.

So when the medic had begun stressing himself over the fact that there was relapse, the two sat themselves down on the spare chairs. And as the medic worked, Optimus didn't help as he continued to lecture the two through the comm-link. Out of the corner of their eyes, Optimus had kept the other in sight, blushing and turning away when the other would meet their gazes.

* * *

 ** _A few days later…_**

Sam had one word when he woke. **Bright**. It was harsh on his eyes when the lights came on in the flick of switch and the sounds of many shouting. He nearly had a heart attack when a few party poppers went off and laughter had followed. Blinking, the room was fuzzy before it had cleared and everything was placed into retrospect. There were his parents. Will and Epps. Optimus and Bee. A few soldiers. And basically everyone he knew was inside his room. Each holding a grin of their own before a countdown from three was made. When the countdown reached its end, the room went loud.

"Merry Christmas!"

A groan escaped the teen as he covered his ears before reaching below his pillow. Luckily, he came prepared for situations like these after one fateful morning with the twins and another with his college roommate. Though honestly, he'd never thought he'd ever need to use _it_. What he pulled out were two objects. Both items worried the room's population. One was a dog whistle while the other was an air horn. He found that a dog whistle was as effective on an Autobot as a blow horn to a human.

There wasn't any mercy left when the whistle was blown and the air horn pressed. The Autobots cursed while vacating the room while the human population followed right after. Sam got up from the bed and followed them out, watching as a few stumbled and Ironhide banged his head on the wall outside. When all were finally out, the door was quickly shut and Sam had stopped to lock it.

Where he got the tools from? Well, Will gave the whistle to him as a precaution ever since the twins had gotten in and the other was bought from his friend when they decided to prank him on one study-night. A sigh of relief for having them ready beforehand. Then he took a moment to look around the room. Somehow, they had managed to sneak in a full grown Christmas tree and decorated it while he slept. It was the same thing for the rest of his room as balloons, streamers and decoration were placed.

He stared in awe for only a few seconds before returning to his bed to hide the weapons once more. Quickly rushing to the bathroom to clean up, he returned a few short minutes later in a fresh new pair of clothes and brighter look on his face. When opening his door, he was surprised to see everyone was still outside, waiting for him as they chattered among themselves. When they turned to find the college student was out, the group began to gather around him, a smile on their faces as most had forgotten of the attack on their ears and audio receptors.

He laughed when each gave their own version of a 'hello'. "Merry Christmas, everyone."

* * *

The rest of the day, he found that he was dragged around by mostly everyone. Bee who had wanted to show the bot-sized snowman he built, the twins who grabbed a few people into a snowball fight, Ratchet giving his daily check-up, Ironhide showing off a new cannon he had built, and then to Jolt, Sideswipe and Bee as they had another race on frozen ice. Let's not forget the humans as Will and Epps had brought him and the soldiers he befriended to a friendly game of FIFA at the rec-room and his parents who pampered him with gifts.

By the time the sun had begun to touch the horizon, everyone had squashed themselves into the equally decorated rec-room, enjoying the classic family movie of Home and Alone. There were times when everyone laughed, times when they winced and cringed at the pain inflicted in the movie, and then there were cheers when the burglars were brought down. In between one of the scenes, Bee whispered quietly to Sam. "I hope Skids and Mudflap don't get any _wild_ ideas from this." The teen thought for a moment, then nodded. He hoped as well.

When the movie ended, the Cybertronians applauded, prompting everyone else to. Then the room was filled with questions, the humans trying to explain each one given. By the end of it, the Autobots had gotten a better understanding of the movie, each giving their own comments. Everyone turned when Judy had whistled towards the group.

"Now everyone, I'd like to give my thanks to you all for looking after our son, the only way I know how. Now, if you'd all follow me towards the dining hall." With that, Judy had lead the way out the door, everyone picking up their belongings, turning off the TV and lights before exiting. Obviously, the bots hadn't a need for food substances, but they had rather enjoyed the company of the humans. Especially a certain college student.

They began to wonder how 'grand' the human mother had made it, judging by how she had set up the decorations for both the rec-room and Sam's quarters. Though when they had entered it, they were left frozen. From a large rusty, old room, it was now a shrine to the Christmas spirit. Six trees placed in each corner and each intersection of tables. Red tablecloths covering almost every table. Candles, plates, utensils and some potted flowers laid perfectly apart from each other. In the middle of the tables were dishes among dishes of food.

No one spoke for almost a minute before Sam did. "… _Damn_ …" Then the female Witwicky turned on her heel.

"Well? Don't just stand there. Take a seat and find a plate." Then the room was flurry of moving people and chattering heads. The only one left standing was Sam who had taken the moment to embrace his mother in a loving hug, Judy returning it with an equal amount.

"Thanks, Mum." He whispered.

"Anything and everything for you, sweetie." She responded before they separated and Sam was hurried off to a seat.

Taking the closest one possible, he found himself in between Optimus and Bee's holoforms. Everyone gave their prayers before the room's population had went wild with noise. Sam was having difficulty handling his food while maintaining a conversation with _less_ than two people. Each had what they wanted to say while Sam nodded and ate, throwing his own opinions during moments of chewing and placing another piece into his mouth.

His attention drew to the blonde when a tap from his direction made him turn. He found the holoform was looking away, but his finger quietly tapping on a napkin. Sam swallowed his food before playing along with the Autobot, pulling the piece of fabric away. Flipping it over in his hand, he read the content.

 _'_ _Look up.'_

Confused by the message, he did as read and gazed up. His eyes widened at what he found was dangling over him. From the corner of the Prime's eye, he saw the teen look up as he did so as well. He found a bush of green ivies, tied together by a red ribbon and dangled over him and the human by a string. When looked back down, he found the teen hiding his face in his hands while the tips of his ears grew red.

"Sam, is everything alright? What is that hovering above us?" Optimus asked innocently, only making the human groan before he reached a hand to his right and lightly punched the scout. Bee gave a hearty laugh while everyone else wondered what was wrong. When their eyes glazed over the mistletoe, the humans doubled over with Sam groaning more. Optimus watched before he asked again. "Sam?"

"It's a mistletoe, Optimus."

The Prime went to work on the World Wide Web, searching the word up before a numerous amount of information appeared. Reading it, he found nothing interesting as of yet. That was until the college student whispered in his hands.

"Try the meaning behind a mistletoe."

And without question, he renewed his search entry. Again, much information was given as most he read the first one given.

 _'_ _Once an aphrodisiac for the Greeks, it is now used as a holiday tradition to exchange a kiss under one.'_

Now he understood most of what it said except one part said. Deciding that it is better to ask, he turned to the still flushed Sam. "What is a kiss?"

The ones who had just recovered from their earlier outburst were now wheezing while the word travelled across tables and the teen was now steaming out of his ears. A few shouts, catcalls and call outs were made from other tables as practically the entire room had their eyes on the two. Things like 'Go on and tell 'im', 'Don't hold back!', and even 'Go for first base now!'.

Sam could only be silent and slam his head on the table for a moment. Though they were worried, most of the Autobots merely watched and waited for an explanation. Pulling up his head, he took a breath before answering it. "It's a human way of showing affection or care." The teen was beet-red, deciding not to go into the full details. But of course, the Prime had pushed him into a corner.

"How?"

"Um… Will?" Now going for plan B, he pushed the question onto the nearest humans, which happened to be the captain across from his seat.

"Uh-uh. I'm not kissing anybody other than my wife and daughter."

"Epps?"

"No way man!" The sergeant refused.

"Um… uhh…"

"Sam, why don't you demonstrate it?" The room went silent, the sound of a few cups and plates shattering. For a moment, the teen thought the leader was joking. Then he filed it down as a brain fart. Optimus was always serious. But was he really going to kiss Orion Pax, otherwise known as Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots and super-intelligent being from another world, in front of everyone including his parents. He thought not.

"Sorry, no can do…" The room was silenced with a few 'aws' here and there. Sam promised to remember the ones who were cheering them to actually go through with it. Looking back up, he found the mistletoe was gone and the fun was over. He'd have to find out who had set up the darn thing as well, but he had suspicions of a certain Camaro. For now, he sat back down and resumed his meal like everyone else had.

Fortunately, he did not meet the Prime's eyes. Seeing as the leader had missed out on another opportunity. But opportunity for what, he wondered.

* * *

After dinner, the group decided to treat themselves to one last movie before turning in for the night. Deciding upon something calming and peaceful, the group voted for the classic _Polar Express_. Not much could be said about the movie as everyone enjoyed the calming minutes of the movie. Sam sat once again between the yellow Camaro and the Peterbilt was poorly squashed with him sitting at one end of the couch, Bee sitting on the armrest and Optimus on his other side. Though he had to lean on the two to actually fit everyone on the couch, neither of the two minded.

It was about halfway through the movie did he notice movement on his right, where Bee was sitting. But since it was such a small movement, he didn't think he had needed to look his way. Then he felt it, a hand moving over his. Just as he was about to pull away, guessing the blonde had moved it by accident, his hand was grabbed silently. Turning his head only the tiniest bit to look at the seeker, he noted that Bee had his eyes on the movie as if nothing had happened. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it, Sam kept quiet and blushed silently. His blush could only intensify when Bee webbed his fingers.

He was no longer able to focus on the movie as he feared that one of the others may spot him. Every minute or so, he'd glance around to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, none had and were preoccupied with the movie. His nerves had begun to ease itself when twenty minutes had passed. But as fate would have it, he would always be given the short end of life. Once more, he found small movement; this time to his left. He had a growing anxiety when something had glided over the back of his right hand. Figuring it was the Prime's finger, he hoped it was just pure coincidence and an accident that he touched. But no. The finger traced up to a knuckle before pulling itself back to his wrist. It drew circles that was strangely arousing the teen. Then the worst came. A palm lowered over his, the heat from the hand passed directly through the contact. The familiar hand turned his, interlacing their fingers with his, one at a time. And for the second time that day, his head erupted into steam.

At first he wasn't able to process the movie, even though he had watched it many times in his childhood, now he was barely able to give a thought other than the two hands that had held onto his. The warmth generated from both contacts was only making his heart beat harder. One hand is that of the one _he_ loves. The other is the hand of the one that loves _him_. It clearly portrayed the events of the past few weeks. Keep holding onto the one he loved, he forgets about the other. Try and love the one that loves him, the other hand tightens. He wished his life could only be so simple. But God  always had other plans.

By the end of the movie, which he didn't realise that it had gone by, his hands were free. But the warmth that remained behind followed. As people began to move, most have chosen to stay silent as a few had dozed off on the movie, choosing to sleep in their spots. He didn't know where they came from, but blankets were soon pulled out as they were draped over the unconscious. One on Ironhide, Ratchet, the twins and only couple of soldiers including Epps. The rest silently exited the door, flicking off the lights and ease the door into closing.

Once out, everyone gave their goodnights and thank you before everyone began to split. Sam received in total 4 hands shakes, 3 slaps on the shoulder and 2 hugs from his parents. While everyone filed out, he noticed that the only ones left were him, Optimus and Bee. God, it could not be more awkward. The two had begun to lead the way to the quarters, choosing the time to ask any questions on the movie. Sam had to reflect on the movie years ago to answer for he questioned how they were able to even remain focused on the movie after 'that'. Neither of them decided to bring it up, so that was a plus.

When they had reached the door to Sam's room, they waited patiently for the teen to lock his door before they turned to each other, a serious look adorning their faces. Optimus started. "Bumblebee, earlier you had sent a transmission that you had wanted to talk. Would you like to now?"

"Yes. I have only one question Optimus."

"Alright. Go on."

"I see you as brother, Optimus. So please answer this truthfully, do you 'love' Sam?" He inquired. The leader, being caught off guard as his facial expression clearly showed, waited a second before answering.

"Of course I do. He has saved our lives more than once at the risk of his-"

"You know that is not what I'm asking. I'm asking if your spark _pulses_ for him?"

Optimus was left silent without an answer. He didn't know how he felt. He's always assumed that his love would last as long as Elita's spark held life. But now that he couldn't feel the bond, he was feeling the sensation of a 'crush' all over again. This time with Sam. He pondered the question for a while. During the movie, when he had pulled the teen into a hand grip, and during that time in the dining hall, he had surely felt his spark move for the human. But…

When the Prime didn't answer for a full minute, Bee spoke again. "Let me tell you something, Optimus. If you truly want things to happen with you and Sam, then go forward and ask him. But if you still insist that your spark is for Elita-1, then decide. Save him the pain of not knowing." The blonde said, dispersing his holoform a few seconds after.

Optimus stood there for the longest time, the words echoing inside him. _'Save him the pain of not knowing.'_. That line seemed so familiar. As he thought back further. Then, a line that the medic said had clicked in his head. _'Optimus, one other thing. If my first theory is true and it does take time to rebuild a bond, can I ask if you truly want it?'_. Though they're different words, the same meaning was held behind them. Then he began to question if it was as they said, that he had feelings for the human. If someone had asked him that a few weeks ago, he would've denied it almost immediately. But now…

…

…

He needed time. Even though he had stepped out of his office because of the fact that he had agreed to spend less work in it, his thoughts ran mostly inside that door. For now, he'd think more seriously on the matter.


	7. Silence

Two days had passed and the base was rid of Christmas decorations, now preparing for the end of the year. And Sam had to say, everybody, except the Autobots, were busy running around. A few making calls while others rushed through their work. Lennox said that they do that to finish their workload by the time either their families arrive or they take off to meet with them. Since barely any of them got the chance to visit during Christmas, Epps said he had to blame the new stand-in for Galloway for that, they decided to spend an entire week away from the base on the last day. Even Will had to get prepared to leave, Ironhide deciding to follow him to his family's house and Epps was accompanied by Jolt.

With almost everybody leaving the base, it had dwindled down his friends to mostly Autobot. But he couldn't blame them. Besides, it seems like he could be more at ease with the race rather than his own. Another human feeling. And so, a total of five days had passed and the base was practically empty without the soldiers. The only exceptions were some soldiers, less than thirty, and him.

His parents planned to stay for the celebration, but sadly got pulled away by convenience at the household. Nothing big, just that the house right next to theirs had caught fire. Being close friends with the neighbours, they chose to be there in their time of need. Of course they were troubled to have leave their son on base with no family member, but once Sam heard about it, he too was worried for their neighbours. Insisting that he'll be 'fine', the two packed their stuffs and was driven back by Bee, the yellow Camaro returning after a few hours.

So it was just him, most of the Autobots, and a small number of human friends. And with that much, the base seemed quiet. With everything done and no one running around, everybody relaxed themselves with only minimal work coming here and there from the stand-in, that he had to say was not much different from Galloway. But the human always found ways to brighten the mood of the situation for everyone. So he got to work.

* * *

Optimus, having returned to his office for the much needed time to himself, busied himself with whatever he could find. From computer files, human literature to old data-pads he's already looked over. He still had his thoughts on the talk with the scout a few nights ago. _'Why didn't I answer his question? It was a fairly simple yes or no. I know I hold feelings for Elita. But, do I know?'_ This thought kept replaying in his head.

It came to the point where hadn't even noticed that Ratchet had entered the room. The medic waited for a greeting, which wasn't given. Making his presence be known, he coughed and cleared his throat. It was then that the Prime threw his head up with surprise washing over him.

"R-Ratchet! You scared the Pit out of me!" He stuttered.

"I knocked." Ratchet stated, bringing embarrassment to the leader.

"A-Anyways, was there something you needed?" Optimus asked, brushing away the awkwardness.

"No. But it seems you're in deep thought." The medic noted, drawing a few steps closer to the table. "About what though?"

The Prime held straight lips. "Just irrelevant information."

Ratchet held suspicious eyes. "… Is it about Samuel?"

A twitch came from Optimus. "No. What makes you say that?"

"I wonder." The medic said as he rolled his eyes.

"… If that is all you wanted to say, then-"

"But it isn't." He interceded, leaning his arms onto the table. "Tell me, are you truly being honest to yourself?" The Prime looked rattled.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on Prime. I saw what you were doing when we were watching that movie a few nights ago." He revealed, Optimus feeling somewhat flushed now that he thought back to it. "Why aren't you telling him?"

"Tell him what? That I have developed feelings for him. That'd more than likely shock him and distance us further. Besides, I already have Elita. You're asking of me to betray her."

"Is it really betrayal? She'd understand that you had to move on after her disappearance. And you know better than I do that one shouldn't 'betray' their own spark." It had pained the leader to admit so, but he was right. Long ago, there were times when he believed that he wasn't right for Elita-1. And so, he had tried to distance himself. When he did, it'd eventually caved in on his spark and brought pain.

"… Even if she did accept them, I don't know if I could do it. And after that, would Sam even return said feelings?" He questioned, lowering his gaze. Ratchet was prepared for said question, answering it a second after.

"He held on." The leader looked up, meeting the medic's wise eyes. "That night, he didn't let go of your hand. Didn't move it away nor did he say anything." The sudden realisation hitting the Prime, he questioned how he could've missed that. When he reached his hand out to the teen's that night, he was acting solely on impulse. If the human neither questioned it nor rejected it, did that mean he accepted it? He returned back to reality when Ratchet continued. "He pulled you back from the Well of Allsparks for Primus sakes! Don't you think you owe him that much?"

Remembering that quote, he questioned how it could be used against him so easily. "It's because that I owe him 'that much' that I won't- no- I _can't_ risk this friendship we've built." He argued.

"Samuel is many things. But 'heartless' is not one of them, Prime. And you should know better than to think otherwise." Standing back straight, he headed towards the door. "This conversation is useless. If you tend to be that stubborn about this, then I'd rather give my help to Bumblebee."

As the medic reached the door, Optimus stopped him with a question. "What do you mean?"

Looking at the Prime from the corner of his eye, answered. "You didn't notice, but during 'that' night, Sam was holding onto Bumblebee as well." Leaving with just that, Optimus was left in confusion.

Bumblebee, his brother-like Autobot, was doing the same as he was. But… _'Save him the pain of not knowing.'_ He remembered. Does that mean the scout held feelings for the teen as well? What did he mean by 'as well'? The leader believed he should be happy for the yellow Camaro on finding someone that he can connect to. But knowing that Sam was the one he had optics for, it'd _hurt_. And if Bee did hold feelings for him, why was he so insistent on the Prime being with Sam?

…

Unless he already confessed. And if he did, along with the fact that they aren't courting, then that meant Sam had refused him. But what for? The seeker seemed like the most suitable choice of a partner for the teen. Unless he was overthinking all of this and that they aren't dating.

His processor steamed the longer he thought about it, providing a rather annoying whir of a sound in his holoform. Looking down to his hands, he found that he had been digging his nails too deep. Releasing the grip along with a sigh, he looked to the door.

…

 _'…_ _I won't get anywhere this way. As much as I don't want to, I'm going to have to face Sam sooner or later.'_ He thought. Pushing himself up from his seat, he made his way to the door.

* * *

"Sam!" The weapons specialist called from down the hall whilst he approached. It had managed to catch the attention of the teen, who busied himself by talking with yet another soldier. Turning back to the soldier, he ended the conversation.

"Okay, so have everything ready by then." The soldier nodded before running off, leaving Sam to turn back to the holoform.

"What was that about?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing but a project I'm working on." Sam said, waving his hand as if to say 'don't worry'. "Anyways, what's up? Did you need anything?"

"No. I've just been wondering what you've been doing. You seem to be talking to every soldier left on base, then running off to find another person. Are you planning something?" Ironhide asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head to one side.

"Like I said, it's a project I'm working on. You guys don't need to worry about it. I mean, you'll be seeing the final product soon enough." He stated, drawing the Autobot's curiosity.

"Oh? Can you give me at least an idea?" The teen gave a small giggle.

"Nope. But you can help me." The Cybertronian cocked his head once more. "Do you think you can send a comm to all the Autobots on base to meet on the roof at say… ten minutes before midnight tonight?"

"Before midnight? What could you possibly have planned then?" He inquired, which brought Sam to another short giggle.

"You'll see."

* * *

Taking long strides, Optimus combed through the buildings for the Witwicky. If he wanted to start somewhere, he more than likely had to start at the source. He had to know how the teen felt. If everything that his comrades had said were true, or big misunderstandings. Whatever the case, he needed to find the teen, no matter the obstructions that may come. Or so he thought.

Looking ahead of the corridor, he spotted a certain holoform stepping out from one of the corners. The two met eyes as the Prime stopped in his tracks and the other advanced towards him. Even from the distance, he could tell there was a sharp sting of pain, betrayal and anger in her eyes. The ginger holoform stopped two metres away from him as she kept the sharp eyes.

"Orion."

"Elita. I'm sorry, but I'm rather busy at the moment, so please excuse me." He stepped to one side, Elita following the step.

"No. You and I need to talk, **now**." The pressure in her voice brought tension to the atmosphere, Optimus silently abiding her. "What do you think you've been doing these solar-cycles (Earth days)? Celebrating with the humans? Why haven't we attempted to hunt down the 'Cons yet?"

"Rest assured, we are doing everything we can. To do anymore, we'd have to alert the planet of our existence and risk our place."

"If it is to eliminate the Decepticons, then it should not matter what they order us to do."

"As I told you many times before, we will not endanger the lives of humanity over ours." Optimus stated, his irritation becoming evident in his voice.

"They have destroyed planets, Orion! A few lives for the sake of a thousand more." Elita argued. "You've grown attached to them, Orion. Have you forgotten where you belong?"

"Of course not! But I know that no amount of lives is worth one." The femme scoffed.

"You've changed. It's _that_ human that's having you fighting for them. I'm grateful that he had returned you from the dead, but I feel as if a part of you was left behind when he did."

Now the Prime was truly angered. It wasn't unusual for the leader to break his calm and collected mind, but the way Elita had talked was clearly insulting and belittling his friend. "Do not talk about Sam as if nothing after all he's done for us! We owe him our lives after everything he has sacrificed for us! Like you said, if it wasn't for him, I would not be standing strong to this second! And I would not waste nanosecond if he ever calls one of us!" His fists curled deeper while he spoke earnestly. "If you cannot accept the fact that he is of a strong and willed race, then I ask of you to relieve yourself of the planet."

Elita staggered back, eyes of hurt now held. Looking deep into her once lover's eyes, she found that he was fully intent on what he had said. There was harsh tension between the two before she pulled another step away.

"… If that is what you wish. After we restock, I'll be leaving with my team." The ginger announced, shocking the Prime. With much haste, she turned on her heels and stormed off before Optimus could react. He stood frozen, realizing and regretting what he had said.

Why did he say that? Better yet, why did he feel relief when he did?

* * *

 ** _A few hours later…_**

Sam flicked through his phone as he reviewed the messages sent through his phone and the ones received. He gave a small fist pump to the air when he found that his plan was almost set and ready. Though it was a rather an impulse that gave the idea to the plan, it was working out quite well. He just hoped none of the others had caught on yet.

He currently laid on the very rooftop he had been knocked out once on. It was about 11:30 in the night and he was excited as hell. His legs dangled over one of the sides while his phone was held up by his hand, the other behind his head. He pushed himself up when he heard footsteps approaching behind him. Turning only his head, he found that both Bee and Sideswipe were coming his way. The two stood behind him as Sam turned his phone off.

"Sam, why did you want us up here?" Bee started.

"Especially at this time of night?" Sideswipe added.

"Can't tell ya' just yet. Just because you guys arrived early, doesn't mean that you get to know. So be patient and sit."

The blonde and silver-haired males shared a look before doing so, choosing to be on the teen's left side. It was pure silence while they stared up to the starry sky. Then the scout spoke. "So have you told him yet?" He asked.

Sam turned with a confused look. "Who?"

"Who else? Optimus of course." Bee questioned, holding himself a bemused look when the human flushed.

"T-Tell him what? He dumbly asked, exactly when the blonde rolled his eyes. Sideswipe watched the exchange between the two before he finally asking.

"Can I get an idea of what you two are talking about? Was there something that Optimus needed to know?" From the questions, the teen flushed even brighter, only hoping that the darkness of night would hide the thick red colour of his cheeks.

Bee smiled before he began his explanation. "Well, Sam here has developed certain feelings for a certain Prime that we all know. And he's been trying to tell Optimus this for a while now." A sudden gasp came from the other bot as Sam could only groan in response, placing a hand to his forehead.

Sideswipe grinned as he gave a whistle. "Really now? I didn't know that the Prime was such a popular mech. Now… details~" He asked, the last word rolling off his tongue.

"…"

"Kidding. Kidding. Just happy to know that someone could make the Prime happy again." Sideswipe laughed, patting the teens back in hopes of calming his seething rage. Sam sneered and grumbled before resting his back down once again. Bee looked down at the teen with an innocent smile.

"You know you promised me that you would."

"Don't remind me." Bee chuckled. "I just don't know how, alright…"

"Well, how else are you going to do it but by being honest? I mean, it worked out for Sides' over here." Bee directed a finger towards the other holoform, noticing how the teen raised his and the other mech jolted alive.

"What?" The two spoke unison, Sam holding a raised eyebrow while Sideswipe looked like a like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Oh? If I remember correctly, you and Strongarm, a friend of ours, hated each other's engines before you confessed to her." Bee looked back in his processor.

"Bee! Don't just bring unnecessary stuff up!"

"And after he did, she fell completely for him." Bee continued, ignoring the calls from the other holoform.

"BEE!"

"What?" The blonde asked innocently, pretending as if nothing important had come out of his lips. "Am I wrong?" Sideswipe stopped himself from shouting and answering the question, flushing whilst he turned away. He coughed before turning back. Sam's brow lifted even higher whilst he listened. Then he turned his eyes to the silver-haired holoform.

"Umm, wow. Did that all really happen?" He asked.

"… Yes… It was, and still is, the greatest moment of my life. And I completely agree with Bee here. It gets better after you tell them." Sideswipe stated.

"… And if it doesn't turn out like you think?"

"Then you swallow up your pride and accept it. Since it's Optimus, he'd still remain his friendship with you even if he doesn't return your feelings, which he won't."

"But how d-"

"He **won't**." The two holoforms assured, more than definitely certain about their words. Sam inspected both of their faces, noting how both have the eyes of the Prime when faced with any problems. Eyes that say one that they cannot lie at the moment of truth.

Exhaling air, he turned away from the two. "Right, right. Thanks guys."

The two bots chuckled before they did the same as their human friend, dropping their backs down. A few minutes passed, the two sharing their past experiences as well as their basic opinions on any 'dumb ideas' the teen would cook up. They encouraged him hard to go for it soon, stopping when more footsteps came behind them. Soon enough, more and more people began to join them. First being the twins and a couple soldiers looking over them, Sam whispering with the humans. Then it was followed by Ratchet, and then the rest of the soldiers on base.

They all took their seats as Sam opened his phone once more to check the time. 11:56. He quickly asked Bee to comm Optimus once more, which the blonde had said that he was on his way. Finally, the Prime had arrived, surprised to see so many already seat and waiting. Finding that there was no seat left, he chose to stand behind the Witwicky, his arms crossed and, like the rest of the Autobots, curious on what they were doing.

Leaning down to the teen, he whispered quietly. "Why had you asked us up here?" Once more, Sam checked his phone, watching as it had turned to 11:59. Turning off his phone, he pocketed it before looking up towards the sky. He coughed before raising his voice, the soldiers helping by shushing the rest.

"Alright everybody! Look up ahead to the sky and you'll be able to see what we've been working on the entire day. A gift for the Autobots as well as a human tradition."

The crowd didn't question and viewed the dark night. Nothing different than any other night on the planet as the stars lit up the sky. They were about to turn away before Sam had begun his countdown. "10. 9. 8. 7. 6-" The other soldiers joined in as they counted down the night, the Cybertronians scared and anxious for a moment. Unknowingly, the entire world was counting down along with them. Judy and Ron Witwicky. William Lennox, his wife and daughter. Epps and his fiancé. Leo, Seymour, Keller. Even the governments were looking to the skies of their cities. "5. 4. 3. 2. 1!"

Then there was a sort of whistling in the air, frightening the Autobots when the first firework went off. They were just about to jump and attack the 'Con that were firing off those shots. But when they took a closer look at the attacks, it wasn't aimed anywhere near them. Plus, the beautiful colours that had burst from the shots. Soon, they forgot about dispersing their holoforms and continued to watch in awe. Colours of blue, red, green, gold and orange painted the sky. The twins giving their 'wows' and 'cool~' at certain parts while the rest either whistled or stayed silent in entertainment. Sam enjoyed watching their faces light up when a different colour entered, but that also included the other soldiers.

In the middle of the light show, Optimus had sat himself down behind Sam, placing both of his legs beside the teen. Sam had noticed and flushed greatly when something firm had snuck up onto his back. A pair of arms wrapped around the teen as he thought back to the moment when they were trapped in the hospital room. Tilting his head up, Sam observed the Prime's face, noting how he hadn't dropped his eyes down from the lights. A smile tugged itself onto the teen's lips as he returned his gaze back to his work.

They sat and watched for a full ten minutes until the last and grandest burst of colours had come, rising the ends of most of their hair. The mob clapped, whistled and cheered as the show ended, everyone chatting in groups about the surprise they received. Then they turned to the one who presented the show and gave their solemn gratitude, ignoring how he was positioned in front of the leader. Their talks dragged out a little longer as most were questions on how such effects were done and how long it took of the Witwicky to plan and organise it. The questions were humbly answered while they silenced themselves whenever the teen would talk.

Slowly, the group began to grow tired, the humans being the first to leave for the night. Then one by one, the Autobots filed away in pairs. Sam waved his goodbyes to each of them, deciding to leave last for the night. Bee and Sideswipe were the last pair to leave, Sam assuring that he'll leave soon and Optimus deciding to keep him company until then.

When the two were out of sound and out of sight, Sam looked back up to the sky. He and Optimus hadn't inched away from their positions as one would lead to a fall that'd surely kill one of them and the other would bring them a tad too close. The smoke from the fireworks had cleared and the night sky was once again viewable, its stars and planets blinking towards the planet. Optimus simply enjoyed the presence of the other while he gazed up the night sky.

They enjoyed the comfort of each other before Optimus spoke.

"… Thank you…"

"For what?"

"Hmm… Everything."

" _'_ _Everything'_ Everything?" He inquired. The arms around him tightened a centimeter closer.

" **Everything**." Optimus repeated, nuzzling his chin on the teen's head. Feeling the heat return to his body, his heart raced from the closeness.

Okay, let's lay down the facts before he says or does anything to screw it all up. He had fallen for Optimus. He had the support of almost all of his friends. He has consent from the one friend that loves him. The Prime was now clearly showing signs and signals. _But_ , is he really returning Sam's feelings? Or was he just teasing? He had to be sure before anything could be said.

Swallowing a lump of saliva, he pried his lips open to form his words. "O-O-Orion…?"

"Hmm?"

Pulling the last bit of courage he could muster, he spoke. "I have to know… Do you l-l-like m-me…?"

There was silence while the teen squinted his eyes closed. He really did it. He gone and fucked up everything now. From the silence, that meant the Prime was in shock of the question. I mean, a Cybertronian Prime 'liking' a scrap of nothing? It is universally impossible! Now he can never face the leader nor tal-

"Yes."

The Witwicky pulled his eyes open. Believing it was a misunderstanding the second he did, he rephrased the question. "N-No. I mean 'like'-like…"

"Yes." Optimus said again. Once more, he believed the Prime was getting things mixed and hearing the question wrong.

"But, I mean ' _like_ '-like. You know?" Sam asked, turning his head.

As he did, his chin was caught by two fingers and was lifted an inch higher. Before anymore could be said, his lips were caught by another pair, catching him unaware. His eyes met bright blue irises and his body tensed, freezing while his mind went haywire. The pounding of his heart finally leaving his ears as well as all thought process. Then the kiss was released, leaving the teen in silence and dishevelled state.

" _Yes._ " Optimus repeated for the third time, the word bringing tears to the Witwicky. Pushing themselves forward, the two kissed once more, a smile curving at the end of both of their lips. It was pure chaste kiss. No other intent sent through the gesture except for yearning and love. They wished they could've stayed like so for the rest of the night, but when the world returned upright, they pulled apart. During the exchange, Sam hadn't noticed until after that his arms had gone around the Prime's neck.

Taking advantage of his arms, Optimus lifted the teen up before standing on his two feet. Sam steadied himself whilst Optimus walked towards the stairs, carrying him bridal-style. During the short walk between the stairs and the roof, the Prime began to ask questions.

"So, how long have you had these feelings?"

Sam blushed before he answered. "To be honest, it was after you had died." The Prime smiled before the unexpected happen. He chuckled. Optimus Prime, Orion Pax, chuckled. And it was damn fine one! His laugh was almost contagious if not for the show of masculinity behind it and the way it had been an aphrodisiac for the teen.

Unconsciously words left his mouth. "Holy shit. You just chuckled." This prompted another small laugh from the Cybertronian.

"Why yes. Yes, I did." In a rush, one hand the Prime's neck and searched for his phone.

"Hold on a sec. I just need to get a recording so I know I'm not dreaming." The next laugh was more firm and confirmed that the Prime was laughing. It was almost scary how it seduced the young adult. Stopping at the top of the stair case, he lowered his head as well as pulled the human up. Their foreheads lightly made contact while Orion lowered his eyes. It was a moment before Sam did the same.

"Don't ever change, Sam."

* * *

Elita had only stayed long enough to watch half of the light show before she left towards the quarters. She had taken the time to memorise the places she passed of her time on the base. Where one come and go and where they'd rest. Making sure that no a single soul had noticed her presence, she snuck through the corridors towards her destination. After a full ten minutes, she had arrived.

Looking up, she memorised the door. The one that she found the younger human would always leave for the day and return for the night. At those point, it was just a passing thought. But now she was glad she did remember. It was his fault that _her_ Prime was acting the way he is. It was his fault that they now separated. And it was his fault that she had been ordered off the planet. The thought flared her anger.

As her holoform's hand, which she'll never get used to and hopefully won't have to, reached towards the handle, her fingers grazed the metal before they stopped.

"Whatever you're planning, don't." A voice had spoken up, making the femme retract her arm and turn to her sides. When she looked to her left, she found that it was Bee's holoform who spoke up.

"Bumblebee! You have to understand; I'm doing this for Orion."

"No." The blonde moved only an inch further. "If you truly did understand him, then you know this is not what he wants."

"It is clear that he is not thinking straight. The humans have tainted him"

"You're wrong. Samuel James Witwicky had saved us. If we had never met, then many more innocent lives would've been forfeited. Either to the hands of the Decepticons, or _ours_." Bee argued. "What good would it do by killing Sam? To hurt the Prime? To make him  want to leave the planet? No. Rather you would seal his fate to their world."

"How can you know that!? How can you possibly know that he'd remain here!? If he has nothing left that connects him to this planet, whether personal or resourceful connections, he'd leave as nothing would be of use to him."

Silence befell the two as Bee gave a sad look to the leader's ex-consort. "This just proves how far you've fallen and how far you two have separated. Do you really think Optimus would leave just because he has nothing to gain? He's Optimus _Prime_."

The ginger glared and gritted her teeth. "Shut up! How dare you talk like you know anything?! How dare you talk as if you're higher than me!? Anything can be done so long as I say it will! Now go on and play 'slave' to that pathetic, worthless piece of frag that is part of an even more worthless race!"

"Elita!" A voice boomed behind her. Instantly recognising it, she swung her head around to meet the leader's furious eyes. There stood Optimus at the end of the corridor, Sam standing silently behind him. When Elita met eyes with Sam, she found something that made her fury lash greater. _Pity_. Then Orion spoke again, his tone darker and his aura casting out shadows. "Not another **word**. Leave with your pride intact and save Sam from anymore of your derogatory tongue."

The femme looked frantic, switching her terrified gaze between the seeker and the leader. She gave a cry of hurt before storming off, running past Optimus and Sam. As she did, she gave the human a death glare before running off. The three watched as she raced off to Gods/Primus knows where.

For the longest moment, Sam had been holding his breath. But the one that released their breath in the form of a sigh was Orion. Sam had noticed this and was about offer a hand to his shoulder, stopping when the Prime's fist slammed against metal to their side. The teen took the moment to observe the holoform's figure. He was trembling. His head hung low while his body shook rigidly. It was clear to anyone that he was more than troubled by the events.

Sam was afraid to touch the Prime during the moment, but he also knew that the leader needed comfort. So instead of just standing and staring like a goldfish, he reached his hand out to catch the Prime's left limb. He moved his fingers slowly before they laced around the holoform's fingers. Whilst Sam held the hand lightly, Orion had tightened his grip. The young adult winced only the tiniest bit from the pressure of the hold, but for now, he'd simply allow it.

At this point, the blonde scout made himself scarce and left for his room, allowing the two their privacy.

Sam and Optimus stayed like so for the next few minutes before the human had coaxed, with light tugs, the Prime to turn around. When he did, Sam's hazel eyes were met by those of hurt. The Prime's mouth dropping far lower than ever before and his mind unreadable. Then the leader lowered, his arms wrapping around his new love while his head rested on the other's shoulder. Sam returned the embrace with comfort as his hands slid behind the leader.

The silence was the best he could offer the leader whilst they remained like so.


	8. One Way, Or Another

Fluttering his eyes open, Sam's eyes yielded to the light. First thing he questioned was when did his bed get so warm? Second thing to come to his mind was when he had received a new body pillow. Thinking it was nothing but his imaginations, he dropped his eyelids, reaching further for the warmth. His hands grabbing something firm while the second hand felt something that made him blink awake. It was… fuzzy? He didn't how he could describe it. It as if he was brushing through… hair.

His eyes now widened as he lowered the gaze down to the hand that rested behind a head. A head that had raven-black hair. He was now fully awake at the thought of who it was that slept in his bed, who that was burying themselves in his chest, and who it was that he was snuggling up to. An impulse wanted him to scream, jolt out of bed or kick the other person out. Luckily, the rational part of his head kept him from doing so.

Instead, he remembered back to the night before. After the heated events that had involved Elita and Bee, he invited the Prime in for the night. Well, more like the teen had tugged him inside and had pulled him into the bed. During the time, he was just thinking of the best way for the Prime to relieve his pain. And it had seemed to work when the holoform had fallen asleep.

Looking down at the leader, for a moment Sam had wished that the Cybertronian hadn't woken up. It was a foolish thought. But, how else was he supposed keep any more pain from being inflicted if Orion had the chance of returning to the pain every day he woke. And it wasn't only Optimus who was hurt last night.

What Elita had said, though hurtful, she might've been right. We were clinging to the Autobots too hard. After all the Decepticons have been found, would they stay? Or would they leave? Staying meant the governments would drag them into the next war they encounter. Leaving meant Sam would have to say goodbye. He hadn't wanted either outcome. And the images of them strained his heart.

The pain becoming pricks to his heart as he reached for comfort. He pulled the Prime's head closer. Unknowingly, this had stirred the leader awake, the teen releasing his grip to sit up. The college student fumbled back while the Prime stretched and pushed up. He stared at the human as if in a daze before he investigated his surroundings. Sam could only watch with an anxious mind while he did so.

Finally, his 'sight-seeing' was complete and he had recognised it as reality. Pushing his legs over the side of the bed, he stretched his arms and ruffled his holoform's head. Then stopped, frozen on the spot. Turning back to the Witwicky when the sudden realisation struck him. This was reality. He had slept in Sam's bed. _With_ Sam.

Frightened by the silence, Sam spoke. "O-Orion…?"

"Sam." He responded.

"… D-Do you remember last night?" The young adult asked. Optimus gave a weird look before a smile returned to his expression.

"Of course." Orion answered, inching his way closer. Sam shared the smile as he did the same. Giving one peck of lips on the Cybertronian, the two shared another embrace. This time, a smile held on both. Quietly, the Autobot whispered into the human's ear. "Thank you for everything last night."

"Anything for you." Sam replied, another famous chuckle rising from the holoform.

The two spent the rest of the morning together, forgetting the trouble that would come after they step out of the room.

* * *

As they left the room, a thought struck the teen.

"Umm, Orion?"

"Hmm?"

"When did you learn to kiss?" He asked, realising that just until Christmas did the topic come up. And if he already did know, could he at least have saved him the embarrassment that night? A smile brightened on the holoform's face before he answered.

"It might not look like it Sam, but we Autobots have our own homework every moment or so. It was about during the time we were watching the second movie on Christmas. I might've slipped away from the movie to study on human interactions." Optimus explained, the pieces fitting together inside the teen's head.

"I don't know if I should feel embarrassed or sweetened by that, but it's good to know." He stated, bringing approving hum from the Prime. Then another thouught crossed his mind. "Wait, was that why you reached for my hand that night?"

"… I will not deny that a part of me wanted to see your reaction when I did. But during that time, my spark had already begun to pulse for you." Orion admitted, a joking tone in his voice. Sam pouted and puffed his cheek at the Autobot before turning away and began walking.

"At least I know someone was enjoying my embarrassment."

Optimus chuckled as he caught up with his new mate. "Now that isn't really fair of you to say." He commented, making the human turn his way with a brow raised. "From what I have read, people tend to shy away from the contact. But you didn't. And even more, you held on." Knowing where the conversation was going, his blood began to run up his head. Orion watched as the young adult changed shades of red faster than Ironhide and Ratchet could form an argument. "Does that not imply that you had wanted me to do so?"

"Like I had a choice! I froze up!"

"Was that what happened with Bumblebee?" Sam exploded on the spot into a cloud of steam.

"H-How'd y-y-you k-"

"Ratchet noticed and informed me." Orion briefed. The teen turned to a stuttering mess as he tried to explain the situation of what happened, without actually speaking about the blonde's affections. He was stopped with a finger to his lips. "Samuel. I won't look at you any differently if you cared about Bumblebee. I'd see someone whom I love, not someone who I expect to love me back."

The finger left his lips as he now held a guilty look on himself. He turned the same look towards the Prime. "I do love you… But, are you worried that I'd leave you?" Sam asked, Optimus' expression flinching only the slightest bit. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but even he had his doubts. There were things that can't be shared between them two like him and Bee. And there was the anxiety of losing another one of his love. But he can't just tell the human that.

When the Autobot had stood silent for a minute, Sam took initiative and moved closer, placing a quick kiss on the lips in reassurance. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that question. Because I don't think I _can_ leave you. At least, not without breaking my heart and your spark. I do love Bee as a best friend or even a brother, but I _'love'_ you, Orion Pax." A second kiss came from the teen as it had brought back the Prime's smile.

"And I as well love you, Samuel James Witwicky." His hand brushed down the teen's face. Sam leaned into the touch before pulling away. They shared one last smile before turning back to the path they walked.

* * *

 ** _A few hours later…_**

The Autobots and human teen watched as the Lumos Aria took off of the ground and flew higher and higher. A few were informed of what had happened the other day and had heard the main reason why they had left. None could deny the Prime's reasoning as they were ticked off with the way Elita and her crew had treated the humans. Deciding it was best, Arcee had followed with them, believing her only solace from her fallen sisters could only be found amongst her friends. Optimus didn't argue against it, allowing the femme to do as pleased, leaving on the note that she is welcome to return at any time. Arcee apologised for her friend before leaving as well.

They had stayed until the ship had left the planet safely before they forwarded back in, most not wanting to say anything more. A few even glad that the femme was off the planet. Sam was torn between a feeling off that and guilt. At best, he wanted to keep Elita in Orion's life, even if she did hate him. But seeing as it was the Prime's choice, he couldn't argue against it.

On the way in, Bee kept prodding for what happened last night, like any teenage girl after her friend gets into a relationship. A few of the questions a little more embarrassing than Sam had hoped. Luckily, none of the others listened in and were busy speaking with Optimus. But during points of each conversation, they would smile towards the other.

After an hour of conversing with the others, the two had finally found the time to pull each other away from the conversation, choosing to settle themselves in the rec-room. At first, the two settled onto the couch, with Optimus being used as a cushion, for light chatter. Mostly about anything that came up from their mind. From past warriors to the things Sam had been studying while in college. Then the next moment they had cuddled up comfortably for some quality television

It was yet another classic movie, _Titanic_ , from Sam's choosing. It was interesting to watch for the two as Optimus thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue, while Sam allowed himself the grace of watching the leader's face light up. When he returned to the movie, he found that it was drawing closer to the 'heated' scene. Suddenly, he felt flushed when a hand snuck up on his hip.

He jerked for a moment and giggled from the contact. "Orion!"

"Yes, Samuel?" Optimus asked, feigning innocence.

"At least save it for bed!" The teen said, using hand of his own to pull away the holoform's hand.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He said, a mischievous grin drawing on his face.

"Haha." Sam rested his hand back into his prior position before the leader snuck his arms around the teen, prompting a yelp of surprise. Of course, the college student wriggled and squirmed, but the Prime kept his hold on the teen while his legs began to wrap around the human's as well.

"Orion!"

"What? I only sense that you're cold and in need of some warmth."

"It's 80°!"

"78, to be exact." Orion corrected, moving his head closer to the youth's ear. He blew a warm breath, having Sam shiver and heat up from embarrassment. A tight sensation began to draw between his pants as he then felt the flick of a tongue hit the tip of his ear. A moan escaped the teen as Optimus grew more aroused from the sound his human had made.

"You know I have to wonder at times," Another breath, another moan. "Do you fantasize about me? If you do, what do you picture?" The Prime slides his hand under the teen's shirt. "Something like this? Or…" A small peck of kiss is placed onto the youth's neck.

"Orion…" Stopping for the moment, Optimus looked up to face the teen. He witnesses the teen's troubled face who was squinting his eyes closed. And aside from the quick breaths the human had, he was trembling. Orion's smile dropped. He was pushing to fast and hard. Releasing the hold around his love, he forced himself away.

"I'm sorry… That was too much from me… I understand if you don't wish to continue this… with me." He apologised, placing distance between the two when he slid onto the other side of the couch. It took a second only for the Witwicky to recover and look up with bewildered eyes just as the Prime had stood up. "I'm sorry." He said once more, before taking a step.

As he was about to exit, he was stopped with two arms wrapping under his pits and warmth reaching his back. Looking around, he found the teen's head pushing himself into the centre of his back. "Samuel?"

"Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare say that 'I' don't want to continue _this_. _Us_."

"… Sorry."

…

"… Do you regret leaving her for me?" Sam inquired, still not looking up.

"Of course not!"

"Then believe me when I say I won't regret falling for you." Sam quickly spoke, sending the Autobot speechless.

…

…

"… Thank you…"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

"So… they're officially dating?" Bee asked.

"Yep." Sideswipe added.

"Seconded." Ratchet said.

.: _Officially_. :. Ironhide spoke through the comm.

.: _Save me a picture._ :. Jolt asked.

"Pay up, Epps. I called that they'd get together after New Years." Will ordered. There was a slight shuffling before the money was slapped onto the hand he held behind him

"Damn. Was gonna' get Monique a gift with that money."

"… We should get going now. Think they'll need their privacy for a while. Besides we can tease them all we want when we see them later." The blonde suggested, the group humming and nodding in agreement before they filed away from the door.

* * *

Later on into the afternoon, the group had reconvened once more into the rec-room once more for some group fun on the Wii console. At first, it was only Sam, Bee and Sideswipe playing Super Smash Brawl. But after only a single game, the rest became bored and interested, joining in the games they played. It was interesting to see Ironhide threaten the screen and Ratchet struggle with the controls. Even Optimus had joined in, but only on the condition that they played teams and he was on the teen's team. Sam could only blush, roll his eyes and accept the terms. The rest shook their heads with a smile plastered on their faces.

As they played, they soon forgot about the condition the leader had given, but it didn't affect anyone as they were all having too much fun to notice. At one point, the couple were the only players left in the game as the mashed away at their buttons. The others could only watch in awe the exchange of attacks in the game. A few began to root for one or the other to win.

"I got you now!" Sam said, pushing the leader's character closer and closer to the edge of the stadium. Just as the last button was about to be pushed, something quick and warm pressed against his cheek, sending him flushing and frozen in the game and in real life. Sadly, that gave enough time for the Prime to pull his character up and counter back, sending the teen flying off the map.

A few of the others gave their 'boos' and regretted their choice of who to cheer for. Sam could only turn over to the leader who held a devious smile on his face, the college student's face beet red. "Hey! That wasn't fair!"

"How so? There were no rules in the game. Besides, I never said I played 'fair'." Orion innocently stated, prompting the Witwicky to pout and hit lightly at the Prime's arm.

"You know what I mean! I want a rematch!"

"Alright, alright, Samuel. Just don't get mad after I win once more." The leader laughed as he blocked against the swinging arms.

"Oh, it. is. **On**."

And so the next match began with Ironhide and Bee joining as the other two players. Though, it was short lasting as they had tried to attack the other two, only to be caught up in their 'death' radius and have their lives blown away. It was embarrassing as they died at the exact moment, leaving the other two with two lives left. Again, the group watched the game played out between the leader and human friend.

Last life for Optimus. Last life left for Sam. One Smash Ball flying around the screen and whole lot of chorus' behind the players as they jumped and struck at the orb. Just as Optimus had been about to grab the last hit of the ball, the orb flew towards Sam's character, allowing the teen an accidental hit on it and gaining the final smash.

The Prime could only look to the teen with a sheepish expression. Sam returned it with a sneer of his own, pressing the buttons to activate his character's (Lucario in this case) attack. The others watched in curiosity of what the attack was before a beam was fired at Orion's character (Ike, as it represents him the best). A single touch from the beam sent the player flying, ending the game with the human's victory.

Sam jumped up and dropped the controller in joy. "Yes!"

Optimus raised a brow and smiled up to his jumping lover. "Wasn't that last move a bit much?"

"I never said I played fair~" The college student responded. The Prime chuckled.

"Touché."

"That was a close game though."

"Not for us!" Ironhide commented in the background. "Sure. Just kill us in the crossfire!"

"That game was rigged!" Bee argued as the group laughed at the way they acted. Like two children that got hurt after playing with one another. "You two were totally teaming up from the start, weren't you?"

Sam and Optimus gave a mixed look between humour and being awkward. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm with Sam on this. I'm not that low, nor do I listen to Sam all the way." Optimus added.

"Prime. He's got you wrapped around his fingers." Ratchet joined. Sam felt his head heat up and a smile crossing his lips while the leader responded with a straight face.

"Thank you for your hindsight-view Ratchet, but it is really unneeded at this moment. Besides, I'm not _that_ bad." Everyone except Sam raised an eyebrow towards his direction as he noticed them all. "What?"

The group released a joint sigh, shaking their heads in disapproval. "Poor lost soul…" Ironhide said, patting his Autobot leader's shoulder. The group nodded as Orion's smile dropped to an annoyed frown. The first to recover was Ratchet as he turned to the two.

"Before I forget, can I speak with you two in private for a moment?"

"Hmm?"

"Huh?"

* * *

The pair agreed to follow the medic to his work place as the three walked in almost complete silence. The two knew better than to question the medic's actions as it would mean to question him themselves. The only time they talked was when Sam leaned over to whisper to the Prime. It was a simple question, wondering what he Ratchet had in mind. A simple 'no idea' was returned before the medic threw a glare behind himself, putting pressure on the two to stay silent.

When they reached the med bay, Ratchet ordered- yes, _ordered_ \- the two to take a seat anywhere they could while he went off rummaging for a few things. They shared a look before turning back to observing the old holoform. At first, it was all data pads that were being pulled out, then small packs of what the two couldn't identify from their spots, and then there was… a bottle?

When Ratchet returned, he now had a tray full of the things he gathered. As he held it out in front of the leader, Optimus stared at it before taking it in his hands. Maybe take was to kind of word, more like _dropped_. The Prime staggered for a moment, keeping the things from falling before he eyed the medic.

"You'll need those."

Optimus raised a brow. "And these are…?" Sam peaked a head over before he finally got the image of what those packets were and the bottle's label as well. He never thought he could choke on air until that moment when he stepped away with a blushed expression.

"Things you'll need when you try human sexual intercourse." The couple had a spit-take as Optimus dropped the tray and became a stuttering mess in front of the medic. Ratchet glanced down to the fallen tray for a moment before looking back up. "Oh, grow up you two. You're not sparklings anymore-"

"Ratchet!" Orion had cut through. "Couldn't you have chosen a _better_ time to bring this up?"

"Of course not. Even if I'm just a physician to you two, I can see the way you two look at each other. Who knows when you'd go right into it."

"Oh dear god!" Sam blushed madly.

"Ratchet!"

Kneeling down, he caught one of the data-pads in his hand before presenting it to the leader. "Putting your useless embarrassment aside, read over the data-pads first and foremost. They're a compilation of information I've gathered about human intercourse."

"… I have bonded before you know?"

"Well, bonding is completely useless in this situation. Humans tend to have _other_ ways to take part in sexual pleasure. It's very complicated which I'm not going to go into full detail. But with male humans, it's even more complicated when they decide to have intercourse with another male." Ratchet explained, his eye drifting over to the teen whose face was turning 50 shades darker by the minute.

"How so?"

"Again, too many details. Just read through those and you'll be fine. I've put some tips as well that I've found effective." The bot then turned his head towards the college student who looked like he could pass out on the spot. Ratchet had snapped a finger in front of him to catch his attention where a high-pitched 'yes' came out. "I assume I don't have to educate you about this as well?"

" ** _Definitely_**." Sam answered, nodding rapidly.

* * *

 ** _A few hours ago…_**

Okay, maybe the Prime had underestimated the simpleness in human intercourse. It is quite _vastly_ different from anything he's ever experienced, and most likely anything he will in the future. So many variations of the act while all in risk of something or another. And also, so many… _positions_ … The longer and more he read, the more the anxiety in the back of his processor grew, that he'd mess up and cause pain to himself or even worse, to Samuel. So he worked diligently on the data-pads, rereading what he had forgotten before picking up where he had left off. Occasionally stopping to review what he could remember.

Sam took a look from his desk in his room to his love, who still sat in the kitchen reading the information given. From what he could see, the Prime looked like a teen a night before the finals. Hair ruffled, eyes tired while he constantly worked. Every time he'd put down one pad, he'd take up another and read once more. At times, Sam thought the holoform had finally finished, but turned back down to the last of his holiday homework when he found it was still going.

When he glanced to the clock on his left, he noticed how late it has gotten and how the Prime was still reading. A sigh escaped his lips before he stood up abruptly, causing the Prime to whip his head. Then he walked to Orion.

"Sam, is something wrong?" He asked just as the Witwicky circled behind him, wrapping his arms around the leader's shoulders.

"Come on. You've been at it for hours. Time to get to bed."

A sad look crossed Orion. "Sorry. Just let me stay up a little longer and I'll join you." Another sigh passed Sam's lips before he moved to the side of the leader.

"Hey, Orion."

"Y-" He stopped when a pair of lips touched his own, capturing him in a kiss. He merely jumped and dropped the pad he held before Sam pushed further, nipping at the bottom the leader's lips. Understanding what he had wanted, Optimus kissed back as his tongue slipped out from his mouth and entered the teen's. Optimus explored the confines of his lover's mouth before their two organs touched, arousing a moan out from Sam and a groan from Orion. Their tongues danced while their saliva's mixed and were exchanged.

Only reality brought them back onto the surface of Earth with a need for air burning their lungs. Finally, the two broke apart for breath, a glimmer of saliva separating them. Then, Sam turned around and walked towards the bed. "Going to stay up and read? Or learn through practise?" He offered as a sly smile was worn on his expression.

Optimus did not need an invitation as he pushed off the chair and hurried to the bed like a child awaiting Father Christmas at night.

* * *

 ** _Two weeks later…_**

Sam stared up to the stars as he waited for the inevitable sleep to fall in. At least, the most one can sleep on the roof of the base. So to pass the time, he began counting off the constellations that appeared before him. For him, it was like remembering his alphabets. With the 4000 pages of knowledge in his head, he was basically diving back to his mind. He only stopped when sudden footsteps came his way.

He didn't need to look up to tell who it was as they took a seat beside the teen with one leg propped up. He wanted to continue, but not while he's here. So he greeted the holoform. "Hey."

"Hello." Optimus replied.

"Care to join me?"

"In what?"

"What else? Stargazing of course." Sam answered as Orion rolled his eyes and simply laid back.

"Doesn't seem like I have anything better to do." That brought a chuckle to the college student before he looked up once more. His eyes followed the lines of stars while his mind remembered what day tomorrow was. Before he knew it, he was talking again.

"Orion?"

"Hmm?"

"… I'm… I'm scared…" He admitted as the Prime turned to face the teen with a serious and concerned look.

"Of what?"

"I… I don't know… You? That when I come back, you won't be here. The nightmares? That they'd return as well without you. And if any one of them came true…" Sam felt tears prick his eyes while he kept thinking on it. His arm came up to wipe away the liquid while the leader was silent.

"Samuel…" Pulling up the courage, he turned to meet the blue eyes of his love. "I want you to look up there for a moment." The Prime directed a finger towards the sky as Sam followed the direction he pointed at, noticing one of the blinking dots in the sky. Giving a nod to confirm that he sees it, Orion continued. "Whenever you feel that way, whenever all hope is lost. Then do me one thing and remember back to this night and that star. Remember everything we've said over the course of this time we had together, and hold onto it tightly."

When the hand dropped, Sam looked back to Optimus' face. "I love you Sam. No matter if the sins of my past come back, or the darkest moments of my future overtake me, remember how I feel about you now. And know that I will always have my spark pulse for you." Leaning in, he pressed two kisses to the Witwicky. One comforting kiss on the forehead, and another chaste kiss on his lips.

When he leant back, he heard the small laughter of the teen, soothing his heart and mind. "Thank you, Orion. I love you too…" The two rested easy for an entire half hour before something clicked inside the mind of the teen, another chuckle coming from him.

"Was there something I missed?"

"Mmhmm. The star you pointed at was Alnilam, the 'heart' of the _Orion_ constellation and centre piece of _Orion's Belt_." Sam stated as it drew a raised brow to the leader. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"Indeed. But you know what they say."

"What?"

"There are no such thing as coincidences. Only fate." Orion said, a smile of his own turning to the teen. "And it _will_ be fate that in the stars, we meet once more, Sam."

"… That was so cheesy…" Sam smiled as he cried once more. This time, tears of happiness sprung from his eyes before rolling off his cheeks. A firm nod and hum confirmed that he had felt the same thing for the leader. He didn't know how long it'd be before they meet each other, but he knows that they will. One way, or another.

* * *

 _ **Sorry to everyone for cutting this one short. But like I said, once I lose that giant amount of inspiration I had from the start, it becomes dull in my stories. But, if you wait around, I might make a sequel to this one. I can't say what it'd be about but I have an idea in mind at least. Sorry if I left out a few things unexplained, but hopefully they'll be addressed in the next one. Might not be soon, but at least know that it will come.**_

 _ **In any case, thank you so much for reading this story I cooked up! And I ask for a little R &R for your opinions on how good/bad I made it out to be. Thank you very much for reading!**_


	9. NOTICE!

_**BIG NOTICE!**_

 _ **As I assume most of you are aware, the way I gave the story that ending was pretty sh*t... If you aren't, thank you then. But back to the topic, since not much liked how I speed run through all of the story, and how I also planned to create a sequel sometime in the future, which I will still promise to do so.**_ _ **But**_ _ **first**_ _ **, I'm going to REWRITE the entire the story!**_

 _ **No need to to cue any music for it will probably be sh*t once again. But it's better than how it was left when I was rushed. To be honest, I was stressing over schoolwork and such while writing said story, which didn't give me much time for details that I have left unexplained. So for the relief of many (myself included) I hope to rewrite the story by the end of the year. One that hopefully even I can enjoy reading to the last chapter.**_

 _ **This does come with warnings as well. If you've read previous notes I left, inspiration comes and goes for me at a pretty intense rate. Just a few days before coming up with the idea of this story, I was hooked so hard on Zootopia. Now I look at the movie as a big 'm3h' in my life.**_ _ **Anyways**_ _ **, the point is that if I once again fail to inspire myself, then you can expect something as bad as the last few chapters. So this is apologising in advanced.**_

 _ **With all said and done, I hope the rewrite the will be better in the future. Till then, stick around.**_

 _ **~WulveNight**_


	10. NOTICE 2!

_**FOR ALL THOSE WHO WAITED, IT'S OUT! THE REVISED VERSION OF THE STORY!**_


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